Rep. Brian Mast introduces Freedom Haulers bill to fast-track veterans into trucking, tighten CDL enforcement
FORT PIERCE, Fla., Aug. 12. On the one-year anniversary of a three-fatality crash on Florida's Turnpike near Fort Pierce, Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., said he is introducing legislation to codify President Trump's Freedom Haulers initiative, a program that would allow qualifying military veterans to skip the commercial driver's license knowledge test and use veterans' benefits to pay for CDL training.
Key takeaways
- Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., is introducing legislation to codify President Trump's Freedom Haulers initiative, which lets qualifying military veterans skip the CDL knowledge test and use veterans' benefits to pay for CDL training.
- The bill would make permanent existing federal waivers letting some veterans bypass the road skills test and add a knowledge-test exemption for veterans with qualifying military heavy-vehicle experience.
- Mast announced the bill on the one-year anniversary of a three-fatality crash near Fort Pierce, Fla., caused by a tractor-trailer driver who made an illegal U-turn.
- Mast said that driver had entered the country illegally, held a California-issued CDL, scored 2 out of 12 on an English proficiency test, and had failed the CDL test 10 times in two months before the crash.
- Mast called for removing any commercial driver who fails the proficiency test, fails the skills test, or holds an improperly issued license.
FORT PIERCE, Fla., Aug. 12. On the one-year anniversary of a three-fatality crash on Florida's Turnpike near Fort Pierce, Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., said he is introducing legislation to codify President Trump's Freedom Haulers initiative, a program that would allow qualifying military veterans to skip the commercial driver's license knowledge test and use veterans' benefits to pay for CDL training.
The Fort Pierce crash
The crash involved a tractor-trailer driver who made an illegal U-turn through a highway access point, cutting across lanes of traffic. The approaching minivan had no room to stop. Mast said the driver had entered the country illegally and held a CDL issued by California despite scoring 2 out of 12 on an English proficiency test. He had also failed the CDL test 10 times in two months before the crash, according to information cited in Mast's statement.
The driver was operating the commercial tractor-trailer without work authorization, Mast said. Federal law requires commercial drivers to demonstrate English proficiency and read road signs. California's Non-Domiciled CDL program, he said, did not rigorously verify legal work status or language skills before issuing the license. The crash occurred a few miles from Mast's own home.
What the bill would do
Mast's legislation would make permanent the existing federal waivers that allow some veterans to bypass the road skills test, while adding an exemption from the CDL knowledge test for veterans with qualifying military heavy-vehicle experience. Veterans' benefits could be used to cover training costs under the bill.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has backed the Freedom Haulers initiative. The Trump administration's broader trucking enforcement push has yielded 51 immigration detentions and 36 English language proficiency violations, according to figures cited in Mast's statement.
Broader enforcement push
Mast pointed to a Virginia bus crash that killed five people, in which Duffy said the driver did not speak English. Mast called for removal of any commercial driver who fails the proficiency test, fails the skills test, or holds an improperly issued license.
Some drivers currently operating on public roads have scored as low as 2 out of 12 on English proficiency tests, Mast said. Federal law already bars drivers who cannot demonstrate proficiency, but enforcement has been inconsistent across states.