GOP bill would require all truckers to pass English test as highway safety fears grow

Rep Pat Harrigan R-N C is spearheading an effort to make English proficiency an enforceable prerequisite for commercial drivers in the wake of fatal crashes caused by illegal immigrants who skirted language requirements If you can't read 'bridge out ahead' or communicate with a state trooper at a crash scene you have no business driving an -pound truck on American highways Harrigan stated On Wednesday morning Harrigan unveiled the SAFE Drivers Act alongside cosponsors Rep Troy Nehls R-Texas and Rep Bob Onder Mo The bill would instruct states to administer English proficiency tests for applicants pursuing commercial driver's licenses CDLs and grant the secretary of transportation enhanced powers to oversee compliance 'ENGLISH ISN'T OPTIONAL' SENATE GOP BILL TAKES AIM AT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT TRUCKERS AFTER FLORIDA CRASHIf the secretary determines a state has failed to implement the standard the bill grants them the ability to withhold funding for other aspects of its commercial driving operation The bill also includes reporting requirements states must make annually to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration detailing the number of prospective productive and compliant applicants The SAFE Drivers Act requires one uniform English test nationwide before any CDL is issued No more guesswork no more state-by-state loopholes just one standard that keeps Americans safe Harrigan explained DUFFY RESPONDS WITH 'CROCODILE TEARS' COMMENT ON BANNED CALIFORNIA TRUCK DRIVER CASEThe SAFE Drivers act comes on the heels of the Trump administration s decision to withhold million from California after Harjinder Singh a -year-old illegal immigrant struck and killed three people after making an illegal U-Turn in Florida in August California where Singh had attained the CDL had refused to enforce English language requirements according to U S Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy In a separate instance Jashanpreet Singh an illegal immigrant who crossed the southern frontier allegedly crashed headlong into a traffic jam on Wednesday while intoxicated He too received a CDL from California after having been circulated from prison under the Biden administration Duffy announced that existing requirements should have prevented the administration of a CDL in both cases U S Department of Transportation took THOUSANDS of commercial drivers out of arrangement for not speaking English Now we are withholding MILLION from California for their refusal to do the same TIME'S UP Duffy wrote in a post to X Harrigan's bill isn't the only piece of regulation that seeks to give Duffy enhanced enforcement mechanisms Sen Cynthia Lummis R-Wyo introduced a bill earlier this month that would deem drivers out of utility if they fail to meet driving requirements Harrigan's bill differs from Lummis' bill by applying the language requirement before the CDL license is granted SENATE REPUBLICANS TARGET OBAMA-ERA TRUCKING RULE WITH NEW ENGLISH PROFICIENCY BILL We have federal rules that require English proficiency but no standardized test to enforce them so states like California hand out commercial licenses to drivers who can't understand basic safety instructions Harrigan disclosed Like other pieces of statute the SAFE Drivers Act likely won t come to the floor for a vote until lawmakers resolve a -day shutdown and gridlock over how to fund the federal leadership Consideration of a short-term spending bill failed for a th time in the Senate on Wednesday