Highway Bill passes in the House – Next hurdle – the Senate

A five-year, $305 billion highway bill has passed in the House today by a 359 – 65 vote. The Bill will now will make its way for a Senate vote.  A  vote by the Senate  in its favor would then take it to the White House  for signing into law by the President.

While this is great news, efforts by trucking companies to broadly lower the minimum age of all truck drivers on interstate trips from 21 years of age to 18 were narrowed in the final version of the highway bill announced this week.

The bill still seeks to lower the minimum age from 21 to 18 but proposes now to limit it only to drivers who are veterans, reservists and current military personnel.

Trucking companies have argued for some time that there is a risk that the current shortage of some 48,000 truck drivers could rise to even higher numbers since older truckers are retiring more frequently than younger replacements are assuming those jobs.

We welcome the opportunities that this bill, if passed, will create for young veterans looking for work in the trucking industry. Hopefully non-military CDL holders can have the same opportunity in the future.

You can read more about today’s vote at USA Today.