On Tuesday, U.S. Sens. Jon tester (D-MT) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) introduced legislation to allow veterans to use their VA benefits to access trucking apprenticeship programs.
The legislation, the Veterans Transition to Trucking Act, would cut red tape surrounding veteran access to trucking apprenticeships that operate across multiple states, and let the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to approve programs operated by interstate commercial trucking companies.
“Truckers and transportation workers fuel our economy, and we’ve got to be doing everything we can to bring more qualified truckers into the fold, including our nation’s veterans,” Tester, the chair of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said. “Our commonsense bill will cut bureaucratic red tape and ensure veterans looking to use their VA education benefits to access trucking apprenticeships can more easily do so.”
Currently, trucking companies that operate in more than one state must get approval from each state to allow veterans to use their VA benefits for apprenticeship programs with their company. In some cases, these companies chose to opt out of offering the apprenticeships to veterans because of the red tape they are required to go through, the lawmakers said.
The proposed legislation would allow interstate commercial carriers to get one approval for their apprenticeship program from the VA. The legislation is supported by the Veterans Service Organizations and other stakeholder, the Congressmen said including the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), and the American Trucking Association (ATA).
“America’s trucking industry needs drivers, and making it easier for the men and women who have served our country to enter fulfilling careers in trucking is a win-win,” said ATA’s Senior Vice President of Legislative Affairs Henry Hanscom. “ATA supports this legislation and looks forward to working with Congress to enact these bipartisan reforms into law.”