By Nancy Libin ( July 6, 2017, 1:43 PM EDT) -- Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao signaled earlier this year that although the U.S. Department of Transportation may make some changes to the previous administration's approach to autonomous vehicles, she supports a regulatory environment that fosters their testing and deployment.[1] This is good news for automakers and other companies that develop products and services that are part of the autonomous vehicles ecosystem. They need a champion at the federal level who can provide a legal and policy framework to supplant the numerous state laws and regulations that have sprung up in the absence of federal legislation. A uniform national framework for the cybersecurity issues implicated by autonomous vehicles is particularly important. Both Secretary Chao and Congress have an opportunity to provide just that....