The U.S. Senate has given the green light on a bill focused on simplifying the process for military veterans to acquire a commercial driver’s license (CDL). The 2023 Veteran Enhancement Commercial Driver License Act was unanimously approved by the entire Senate on Nov. 2.
Supported by the American Trucking Associations and the Commercial Vehicle Training Association, this legislation eliminates the current two-year waiting period required by certain CDL schools that veterans may be interested in attending and financing using their GI Bill benefits.
The current law prevents the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs from endorsing CDL courses provided at secondary branches of educational institutions if these branches have operated for less than two years. The bill removes this restriction by permitting the VA to endorse a CDL program for veterans at a new branch, provided it meets state licensing requirements and follows the same curriculum as the previously approved primary institution.
Similar legislation is under closer scrutiny in the U.S. House of Representatives. During a House Veterans Affairs subcommittee hearing on Nov. 2, Joseph Westcott, the legislative director for the National Association of State Approving Agencies, cautioned that the current version of the bill, which mirrors the Senate’s version, “sweeps away veteran protections” established by the two-year waiting period.
The waiting period serves to prevent veterans from enrolling in subpar, unreliable truck driving schools by granting the branch school enough time to prove its stability and quality curriculum, according to Westcott.
“This bill, as presently drafted, only requires that an institution offer the same curriculum as a previously state-approved institution anywhere in the nation,” Westcott said. “A truck driving school could request immediate approval of a ‘branch’ campus anywhere in the nation, and the [state approval agency] of jurisdiction would have no records (graduation rate, CDL pass rate, or job placement) to determine the approvability of the program. If we don’t safeguard that, then we would be in the situation where somebody could get approval in the state of Idaho, and now the two-year rule is effectively swept away in North Carolina. That’s concerning to me.”
Conversely, subcommittee Chairman Derrick Van Orden, R-Wisc., expressed concerns that resistance from state approval agencies regarding the bill’s language could hinder its passage, particularly if it affects the approval of CDL branch schools located in other states but in close proximity to the primary school.
Source: Freightwaves
