Peters Leads Colleagues in Calling for Increased Funding for Connected and Automated Vehicle Technologies
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) was joined by Senators Debbie Stabenow (MI) and Sherrod Brown (OH) in calling for full funding of the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) efforts to advance connected and automated vehicle (CAV) technology.
In a letter to Chairman and Vice Chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, the Senators wrote, “The auto industry is in the midst of a seismic technological shift that will revolutionize the transportation of people and goods in our lifetime. Advances in CAV technologies will improve transportation safety and efficiency and will reduce emissions and fuel consumption.”
“It is critical that the Federal government play a leadership role in ensuring that CAV technologies are safely developed and tested in a thorough and thoughtful manner...,” continued the Senators. “Moreover, federal support will help the United States maintain and grow its leadership role worldwide in automotive technology.”
The Senators’ letter urged the Committee to fully fund the DOT’s FY 2017 budget request of $200 million to accelerate the development and use of CAV technologies. The Senators specifically called for $60 million to support the creation of a national CAV research and testing facility in the United States to bring together automotive manufacturers, academia and federal, state and local governments to support product development, testing and certification of new advanced vehicle technologies. There is currently no national testing facility in the United States for CAV technologies. Countries including Sweden, Korea, China, and Japan have already established these test sites.
Peters, a member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, strongly supports advanced vehicle technologies. His legislation allowing states to use existing highway funds to invest in vehicle-to-infrastructure safety technology was included in the highway bill Congress passed last fall. Peters also introduced the Vehicle Innovation Act with Senator Stabenow to promote investments in research and development of connected vehicle technologies, such as vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure technologies, to improve vehicle safety and efficiency. Additionally, Peters worked with Republican Senator Cory Gardner (CO) to create the bipartisan Senate Smart Transportation Caucus, which focuses on federal policies that will ensure American manufacturers continue to lead the development of transformative vehicle technologies.
The full text of the letter is copied below and available here:
March 18, 2016
Dear Chairman Cochran, Vice Chairwoman Mikulski, Chairman Collins and Ranking Member Reed,
As you prepare the Fiscal Year 2017 (FY17) Appropriations legislation, we write to express our strong support for the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) efforts to advance connected and automated vehicle (CAV) technology. Specifically, we request the committee include $60 million to support the accelerated creation of a national CAV research, testing, product development, validation, and certification facility within the United States.
The auto industry is in the midst of a seismic technological shift that will revolutionize the transportation of people and goods in our lifetime. Advances in CAV technology will improve transportation safety and efficiency and will reduce emissions and fuel consumption. DOT’s FY17 budget proposal includes $200 million in funding to accelerate the development and adoption of CAV technologies by funding large-scale deployment pilots to test connected vehicle systems and ensure interoperability of vehicles and CAV technologies. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has stated that a focus of the program will be to support the development of tools necessary to measure safety performance of highly automated vehicles, including roadworthiness testing, simulations that measure safety performance, and tools to support interoperability of CAV technologies.
It is critical that the Federal government play a leadership role in ensuring that CAV technologies are safely developed and tested in a thorough and thoughtful manner, aligned with voluntary industry standards. To that end, it is requested that $60 million be devoted in FY2017 to support the accelerated creation of a national research, testing, product development, validation, and certification facility within the United States. Currently, no single facility exists that meets these needs. Federal support for such a facility will help ensure that future public and private sector investment in CAV will be rewarded with safer, more efficient transportation networks. Moreover, federal support will help the United States maintain and grow its leadership role worldwide in automotive technology.
To ensure that appropriated funds are spent effectively and efficiently, we urge that DOT be directed to take into account a variety of factors in selecting a facility, including: strong support from state and local governments and a firm commitment to cost sharing; strong support from the U.S. automotive sector and proximity to manufacturers and suppliers for more effective collaboration; opportunities for collaboration with academia and existing CAV testing facilities; and an ability to offer a combination of simulation, track testing, and on-road testing, including testing on the widest variety of road types and under all relevant weather conditions. We also believe it is critical that the facility be in a position to open within three years, recognizing the urgent need for testing to keep up with the rapid growth of innovation in this area.
Thank you for your consideration of our request, and we look forward to working with you to advance the development and deployment of this revolutionary and life-saving technology.
