Overview
- Rep. Pat Harrigan introduced the SAFE Drivers Act with Reps. Troy Nehls and Bob Onder to mandate a single nationwide English-proficiency test before any commercial driver’s license is issued.
- The bill empowers the Transportation Secretary to enforce compliance, including withholding funds from noncompliant state CDL programs, and requires annual reporting to the FMCSA on applicant volumes and pass rates.
- The initiative follows triple-fatal crashes in Florida in August and in Ontario, California, this week involving tractor-trailer drivers accused of being in the U.S. unlawfully.
- Homeland Security filed an arrest detainer for the California driver, alleging a 2022 southern border entry and later release into the country.
- DOT has already withheld $40 million from California over English-rule enforcement as other GOP proposals circulate and major trucking groups endorse uniform testing, though floor action is unlikely during the ongoing shutdown.