A new bipartisan bill introduced in the U.S. Senate in February will help fill projected vacancies in the transportation industry.
If passed, the Senate bill, Promoting Service in Transportation Act, S. 3303, proposed by U.S. Sens. Cory Gardner (R-CO), Gary Peters (D-MI), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Catherine Cortez Mastro (D-NV), will create a public awareness campaign from the U. S. Department of Transportation that would focus on the availability of jobs within the transportation industry.
A similar bill was proposed in the U. S. House of Representatives by U.S. Reps. Rick Larsen (D-WA), Don Young (R-AK) and Angie Craig (D-MN) in 2019.
The ad campaign would focus on airline pilots, air traffic controllers, railroad workers, and truck drivers, as well as other transportation industry support jobs, to highlight current and upcoming job openings over the next decade.
According to the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there will be more than 2 million truck driver positions by 2028. But industry officials have said there are upwards of 60,000 unfilled positions currently, and that those figures could increase to more than 100,000 in the next five years, and nearly 160,000 by 2028.
“Colorado’s growing population and economy demand our transportation systems keep pace,” Sen. Gardner said in a statement. “Pilots, bus drivers, truck drivers, technicians, and more are needed to support Colorado’s transportation priorities, and this bipartisan legislation is aimed at helping connect workers in the Centennial State to transportation job opportunities.”
The bill is supported by the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA), and the Transport Workers Union (TWU), among others.