Florida Representative Brian Mast announced this week an initiative to codify the “Freedom Haulers” program into law.
Mast released a statement on Fox News early Tuesday morning, August 12, announcing his intention to introduce a bill that would enshrine in law recent regulatory changes aimed at facilitating veterans’ transition into the trucking industry.
“Freedom Haulers recognizes something the rest of the country should have recognized long ago: military experience counts,” Mast wrote in his statement. “Veterans have the discipline, precision, responsibility, and experience required by the trucking industry. Qualified veterans with military experience driving heavy vehicles can take advantage of existing federal exemptions to avoid redundant driving tests and enter the industry more quickly.”
“Now Congress must make that policy permanent. That is what President Trump’s Freedom Haulers initiative is all about, and that is why I am proud to introduce the bill to make it law.”
The regulatory changes, which are part of the “Freedom Haulers” program, were officially announced on July 30. These measures include extending the FMCSA’s military skills test waiver from one to two years; adding seven states to the “Even Exchange” program, which allows veterans to “exchange a military driver’s license for a CDL”; and the option for active-duty service members to apply for a CLP or a CDL in the state where they are stationed, rather than requiring them to travel back to their home state.
“With my bill and President Trump’s initiative, we will create a program that streamlines the entry of American veterans into the trucking industry, allowing eligible veterans with military driving experience to skip the CDL written exam, in addition to existing provisions that allow them to waive the practical driving test, and use veterans’ benefits to cover the cost of CDL training,” Mast wrote.
The announcement comes one year after the now-infamous accident in Florida involving an illegal U-turn by a semi-truck and an ATV, in which two men were killed. That accident helped drive an increase in legislative measures targeting foreign truck drivers with commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) over the past 12 months.
