Unqualified CDL driver crackdown bill ‘Dalilah’s Law’ advances out of Committee
Washington lawmakers have advanced the Dalilah’s Law bill, which seeks to improve safety by strengthening requirements for Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) drivers.
On March 18, the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T & I) Committee approved Dalilah’s Law by a vote of 35 to 26, according to a news release issued by the Committee.
The bill is named for Dalilah Coleman, who was injured in a crash involving a truck driver who was present in the U.S. illegally when she was five years old.
“Today we’re one step closer to safer roads for Dalilah Coleman, her family, and all Americans,” said Highways and Transit Subcommittee Chairman David Rouzer (R-NC), who introduced the bill. “Ensuring each truck driver is qualified and legally operating will protect the public from these tragic, yet preventable accidents. I want to thank Chairman Graves, Secretary Duffy, and my colleagues for their support and swift action in advancing this critical legislation. I look forward to working to get this bill through the House and Senate to answer President Trump’s call to restore public trust on our roadways.”
What Is Dalilah’s Law?
If passed, the bill would enact the following provisions:
- Ensuring all CDL holders understand English, roads signs, and law enforcement officers
- Placing drivers who fail to meet the Law’s requirements and safety standards out-of-service
- Requiring states to verify that they are not issuing CDLs to illegal immigrants
- Significantly increasing penalties for states failing to comply with the Law, by withholding of Federal funds
- Banning shady foreign dispatch services and brokers, who have fueled a surge in freight fraud and cargo theft
- Cracking down on “CDL mills” to ensure drivers entering the industry are receiving adequate training
Dalilah’s Law would codify and strengthen several previous regulatory actions taken by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to increase enforcement of language and citizenship standards for CDL drivers and to fight fraud in the trucking industry.
What Are They Saying?
“I’m grateful to our strong House Republican leadership for putting Americans first. Representative Rouzer’s bill, Dalilah’s Law, codifies a simple premise: no English, no license. Unqualified and unvetted foreigners have no business getting behind the wheel of an 80,000-pound vehicle and killing innocent American families. President Trump was clear: pass Dalilah’s Law and safeguard American roads,” said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
“By approving Dalilah’s Law, T&I Republicans took an important step towards addressing this safety issue and making sure only qualified drivers can obtain a CDL,” said Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO). “This is commonsense legislation that requires all truck drivers on our roads to be able to read and speak English, strengthens laws related to issuing CDLs, and ensures that states are following and enforcing those laws and requirements. Dalilah’s Law supports the Trump Administration’s efforts to make our roads safer. I want to commend Chairman Rouzer for his leadership on this issue, and I look forward to moving this bill quickly through the House of Representatives.”
Trucking groups including the American Trucking Associations and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) have spoken out in support of the bill.
“No family should ever have to endure the kind of tragedy that nearly took Dalilah Coleman’s life and inspired Dalilah’s Law. OOIDA and truckers across America strongly support Chairman Rouzer’s Dalilah’s Law. This legislation represents a major step forward for highway safety and the integrity of the trucking profession. We thank Chairman Rouzer for his leadership and for listening to the concerns of America’s small-business truckers as this legislation was refined. Dalilah’s Law builds on Trump Administration reforms to ensure that anyone operating an 80,000-pound truck on America’s highways is properly vetted, proficient in English, and holds carriers accountable to the highest professional standards. By strengthening federal oversight and certification requirements for CDL training providers, this bill takes direct aim at the ‘CDL mill’ problem that has allowed unqualified drivers onto our roads. Congress must now pass Dalilah’s Law to turn the page on decades of cheap labor policies informed by a false ‘trucker driver shortage’ narrative and make clear that safety, not corporate profit, comes first on America’s highways,” said Todd Spencer, President of OOIDA.