House Bill Would Ease Veterans’ Path to Apprenticeships
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Legislation aimed at facilitating access to veterans benefits for interstate trucking apprenticeships was recently introduced in the House of Representatives.
Reps. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) and Jen Kiggans (R-Va.) are co-sponsoring a measure designed to improve how veterans connect with commercial transportation apprenticeships across multiple states.
The lawmakers’ Veterans Transition to Trucking Act primarily focuses on workforce development. Senators introduced their version of the measure earlier this year.
“It’s unacceptable that veterans are losing employment opportunities due to unnecessary and redundant bureaucratic hurdles. Cutting this red tape so trucking companies can employ more veterans as truck drivers is a common-sense step that will increase opportunities for veterans as well as help address the trucking shortage,” Pappas said last month.
Reps. Jen Kiggans and Chris Pappas.
“I’m pleased to introduce this bipartisan legislation with [Rep.] Kiggans that will streamline the approval process for interstate trucking companies’ apprenticeship programs to partner with [Veterans Affairs], ease the pathway for veterans to become truck drivers, and support the trucking industry,” he continued.
“We owe it to our nation’s heroes to ensure they have the tools they need to make the often-difficult transition from service to civilian life,” said Kiggans. “That is exactly what this common-sense legislation will do by cutting bureaucratic red tape and increasing access to trucking apprenticeships for our veterans.”
“As a former Navy helicopter pilot and the representative for coastal Virginia, which is home to so many who have served our country,” she went on, “it is an honor to advocate for bipartisan policies that help our veterans secure meaningful employment while also addressing the national trucking shortage and strengthening our supply chains.”
Pappas and Kiggans are members of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee. Their bill, referred to a committee with jurisdiction for consideration, would allow interstate commercial carriers to gain singular approval from the VA for industry apprenticeship programs. Doing so, sponsors explained, would simplify the process for motor carriers seeking to recruit veterans for driving jobs. Presently, a trucking firm with operations in multiple states needs multi-jurisdictional approval to proceed with such apprenticeships.
Stakeholders endorsing the bill include Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans and American Trucking Associations.
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“When members of the military return home after serving our country, we have an obligation to help them obtain rewarding careers and achieve the American dream they fought to protect,” ATA Senior Vice President of Legislative Affairs Henry Hanscom said in a statement accompanying the bill’s introduction. “We commend [Reps.] Pappas and Kiggans for introducing this common-sense solution that would make it easier to stand up apprenticeship programs for our nation’s veterans, expanding access to good-paying jobs in the trucking industry and strengthening our supply chain.”
The bill’s committee consideration has yet to be scheduled. The companion bill in the Senate also awaits consideration. “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,” said Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, on March 19. He is the bill’s co-sponsor with Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), ranking member on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Added Cassidy, “Having a commercial driver’s license is a great career. Let’s make sure the veterans know about it.”
