{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://walden.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/greg-walden-helps-advance-self-driving-legislation", "Greg Walden helps advance self-driving legislation", "2017-07-19", "2017", "2017-07", "Republican", "House", "OR", "Greg Walden", "W000791", "walden.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Greg Walden helps advance self-driving legislation \n \n\tSays technology is an innovative solution to reduce traffic fatalities in Oregon \nClick here or on the image above to view Walden\u2019s remarks at today\u2019s hearing\n\u00a0\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Continuing his efforts to improve safety on Oregon\u2019s roads, Rep. Greg Walden (R-Hood River), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, today helped advance groundbreaking self-driving legislation that will prioritize safety and encourage innovation. Walden says self-driving technology is an innovative solution to reduce traffic fatalities in Oregon, which have increased substantially in recent years.\n\"The technology behind highly autonomous vehicles is stunning,\u201d said Walden. \u201cEqually stunning are the latest roadway safety numbers.\u00a0 Almost 40,000 lives were lost on our roads last year. In my home state alone, traffic fatalities were the highest they\u2019ve been in 14 years, increasing an alarming 20 percent from the year before.\u201d\u00a0\nAs Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Walden has been at the forefront of recent efforts to safely bring self-driving vehicle technology to America\u2019s roads. Walden\u2019s Energy and Commerce Committee has held multiple hearings on the enormous safety potential of self-driving cars. Walden has experienced this technology first-hand, and today stressed the need for the federal government to keep pace with advancements in technology as the speed of innovation increases.\n\u201cFor Americans to enjoy the benefits that self-driving cars have to offer, we must develop an appropriate regulatory structure that SAFELY allows industry to innovate,\u201d said Walden.\u00a0 \"We want aggressive oversight of the industry, but with the flexibility needed to test and generate the safest and most affordable technologies possible. There is an important balance we must strike, and I believe this legislation does just that.\u201d\nThis work comes as Oregon and America, as a whole, face an increase in vehicle-related deaths after years of declining traffic fatalities. Today\u2019s bipartisan legislation was advanced unanimously and now moves to the full Energy and Commerce Committee.\nFor more information on today\u2019s hearing, including a background memo and archived webcast, click here.\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://walden.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/greg-walden-helps-advance-self-driving-legislation"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.2195678427815437, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}