[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 207 (Tuesday, December 19, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H10215-H10217]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        JOBS FOR OUR HEROES ACT

  Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (S. 1393) to streamline the process by which active duty 
military, reservists, and veterans receive commercial driver's 
licenses.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                S. 1393

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Jobs for Our Heroes Act''.

     SEC. 2. MEDICAL CERTIFICATE FOR VETERANS OPERATING COMMERCIAL 
                   MOTOR VEHICLES.

       (a) Qualified Examiners.--Section 5403(d)(2) of the FAST 
     Act (49 U.S.C. 31149 note; 129 Stat. 1548) is amended to read 
     as follows:
       ``(2) Qualified examiner.--The term `qualified examiner' 
     means an individual who--
       ``(A) is employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs as 
     an advanced practice nurse, doctor of chiropractic, doctor of 
     medicine, doctor of osteopathy, physician assistant, or other 
     medical professional;
       ``(B) is licensed, certified, or registered in a State to 
     perform physical examinations;
       ``(C) is familiar with the standards for, and physical 
     requirements of, an operator required to be medically 
     certified under section 31149 of title 49, United States 
     Code; and
       ``(D) has never, with respect to such section, been found 
     to have acted fraudulently, including by fraudulently 
     awarding a medical certificate.''.
       (b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 5403 of the FAST Act 
     (49 U.S.C. 31149 note; 129 Stat. 1548) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``physician-approved 
     veteran operator, the qualified

[[Page H10216]]

     physician'' and inserting ``veteran operator approved by a 
     qualified examiner, the qualified examiner'';
       (2) in subsection (b)(1)--
       (A) by striking ``the physician'' and inserting ``the 
     examiner''; and
       (B) by striking ``qualified physician'' and inserting 
     ``qualified examiner'';
       (3) in subsection (c)--
       (A) by striking ``qualified physicians'' and inserting 
     ``qualified examiners''; and
       (B) by striking ``such physicians'' and inserting ``such 
     examiners''; and
       (4) in subsection (d)--
       (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) as 
     paragraphs (3), (1), and (2), respectively, and by moving the 
     text of paragraph (3), as redesignated, to appear after 
     paragraph (2), as redesignated; and
       (B) in paragraph (3), as redesignated--
       (i) in the paragraph heading, by striking ``Physician-
     approved veteran operator'' and inserting ``Veteran operator 
     approved by a qualified examiner''; and
       (ii) by striking ``physician-approved veteran operator'' 
     and inserting ``veteran operator approved by a qualified 
     examiner''.
       (c) Rulemaking.--The amendments made by this section shall 
     be incorporated into any rulemaking proceeding related to 
     section 5403 of the FAST Act (49 U.S.C. 31149 note; 129 Stat. 
     1548) that is being conducted as of the date of the enactment 
     of this Act.

     SEC. 3. COMMERCIAL DRIVER'S LICENSE STANDARDS FOR CURRENT AND 
                   FORMER MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES.

       Section 31305(d) of title 49, United States Code, is 
     amended--
       (1) in the subsection heading, by striking ``Veteran 
     Operators'' and inserting ``Operators Who Are Members of the 
     Armed Forces, Reservists, or Veterans'';
       (2) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ``subparagraph (A) 
     during, at least,'' and inserting ``subparagraph (A)--
       ``(i) while serving in the armed forces or reserve 
     components; and
       ``(ii) during''; and
       (3) in paragraph (2)(B)--
       (A) by inserting ``current or'' before ``former'' each 
     place the term appears; and
       (B) by inserting ``one of'' before ``the reserve 
     components''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Missouri (Mr. Graves) and the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia 
(Ms. Norton) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Missouri.


                             General Leave

  Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on S. 1393.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Missouri?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  S. 1393 would exempt current members of the armed services or reserve 
components from certain testing requirements for commercial driver's 
licenses if they had qualifying experience while serving in the armed 
services or reserve components.
  This bill also expands the types of medical professionals at the 
Department of Veterans Affairs who could certify that veterans meet the 
physical standards required to operate a commercial vehicle.
  These commonsense changes will help remove barriers to employment for 
the men and women who have served our country in uniform.
  This bill is a combination of H.R. 2547, the Veterans Expanded 
Trucking Opportunities Act of 2017, sponsored by Representative Rob 
Woodall, and H.R. 2258, the ADVANCE Act, which is sponsored by 
Representative Pete Aguilar. The House passed both bills under 
suspension on June 26, 2017. The bill we are considering today passed 
the Senate by unanimous consent on September 14, which means this will 
head to the President's desk once the House approves it.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend Mr. Woodall and Mr. Aguilar for 
their leadership on the House bills and Senator Cornyn for his work in 
the Senate.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support S. 1393, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in support of S. 1393, the Jobs for 
Our Heroes Act.
  This bill is a step in the right direction to help the Nation tackle 
the longstanding commercial driver's shortage--a shortage that I must 
say I have been working on ever since I have been on this committee and 
especially since becoming ranking member of the subcommittee--and, of 
course, at the same time, to support veterans in a successful 
transition from military to civilian life.
  S. 1393 ensures that all qualified medical professionals employed by 
the Department of Veterans Affairs can perform commercial driver 
physical examinations for their veteran patients.
  The medical professionals that this bill addresses are already 
eligible to become certified medical examiners. This bill simply allows 
these individuals to utilize an alternative certification process that 
is currently being finalized by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Administration.
  The most recently available data shows that, of the 54,000 medical 
professionals listed in FMCSA's National Registry of Certified Medical 
Examiners, only 25 medical professionals are employed by the VA. The 
online training and testing system being developed by FMCSA and the VA 
should help remedy this situation. These two agencies have done a good 
job creating an alternative process that will eventually allow more VA 
doctors to become certified medical examiners, while maintaining the 
safety and integrity of the certification system.
  Although the FAST Act provision authorizing this process referred to 
physicians, FMCSA should allow VA-employed nurse practitioners, 
chiropractors, physician assistants, and other qualified medical 
professionals to participate. This bill ensures that these medical 
professionals are eligible to use this process.
  The bill also ensures that current servicemembers who have military 
experience operating commercial motor vehicles will be able to more 
easily obtain a commercial driver's license. Congress included a 
provision in the FAST Act to allow States to waive the written CDL 
knowledge test for drivers with military commercial motor vehicle 
driving experience, but it restricts this waiver to ``former members'' 
of the military.
  There are a significant number of current reservists and members of 
the National Guard with military commercial motor vehicle experience 
who could benefit from the waiver. These servicemen and -women receive 
what the FMCSA describes as ``thorough and comprehensive training,'' 
including many hours of behind-the-wheel training, something that I 
have long sought and advocated for as a requirement for civilian 
drivers. These military drivers already have it.
  FMCSA has already taken action to make current servicemembers 
eligible for the knowledge test waiver on a temporary basis. Last year, 
FMCSA issued an exemption that allows States to waive the CDL knowledge 
test for trained military truck drivers, whether they are current 
members of the military or our veterans; however, FMCSA's temporary 
exemption expires October 2018.

                              {time}  1445

  This bill makes permanent the ability of current members of the 
military to utilize the FAST Act waiver. S. 1393 is nearly identical to 
two bills the House previously passed earlier this year, H.R. 2547 and 
H.R. 2258, both of which passed by votes of 409-0, or unanimously.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Woodall).
  Mr. WOODALL. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my chairman for yielding me 
the time. I want to thank him for his leadership. The ranking member, I 
appreciate her leadership as well.
  She was exactly right. These are two House bills that the Senate 
combined that we passed unanimously here. This veterans trucking 
language was language that the gentlewoman from California (Ms. 
Brownley) and I introduced together upon learning that of the more than 
54,000 medical professionals that are allowed to certify folks for 
Federal trucking licenses, only 25 of those worked in the VA system. Of 
54,000, only 25 were available to our veterans.
  We said that is not right, so this House came together. We expanded. 
All the physicians of the VA became available to serve our veterans 
through

[[Page H10217]]

these trucking certifications. The bill went to the President's desk, 
and he signed it.
  Then we had folks come back. We had advanced practice nurses, we had 
physicians' assistants, we had folks working throughout the VA 
healthcare system who said: You know what, we, too, are licensed to 
provide these physicals; and if you change the language, we, too, will 
be your partner in serving veterans.
  Again, Julia Brownley on the Democrat side; I on this side; my 
ranking member; Ms. Norton; my chairman here, Mr. Graves; we came 
together and now we have a further improvement to language that the 
rules are still being crafted for down at DOT.
  Mr. Speaker, folks don't think there is cooperation in this Chamber. 
Folks don't think that we are able to work together in this Chamber. 
This is an example of what goes on every single day. Constituents raise 
problems. Republicans and Democrats get together to solve those 
problems.
  I am so grateful to my friends on the committee for their leadership 
to get this done. To Ranking Member DeFazio and Chairman Shuster, I 
thank them as well for their leadership.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Aguilar).
  Mr. AGUILAR. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman for 
yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, far too often our brave servicemembers return to 
civilian life only to find that the skills they have gained in military 
service do not easily transfer to the job market. These brave men and 
women who have worked tirelessly to keep their country safe deserve to 
know that they can thrive here after their service is complete.
  For that reason, Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Jobs 
for Our Heroes Act. Among other critical initiatives to help our 
servicemembers find civilian employment, this legislation contains my 
bill, the ADVANCE Act.
  The ADVANCE Act will allow Active-Duty servicemembers, reservists, 
and National Guardsmen to access the same unique testing standards for 
commercial driver's licenses granted to veterans by the latest surface 
transportation bill.
  This commonsense legislation will allow those serving our country to 
begin the process of finding civilian employment before they finish 
their term of service, allowing them to hit the ground running upon 
reentering civilian life. Our Nation's heroes deserve to know that the 
process of transitioning out of the military will be seamless, and this 
bipartisan legislation will help ensure that is the case.
  I want to thank the ranking member, the chairman for their 
leadership. I also want to thank Senators Warren, Cornyn, and Tillis 
for guiding this bill through the Senate. I urge my colleagues here in 
the House to vote in favor of this today.
  Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and 
I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill marries two priorities: jobs for our veterans. 
So many come back, and they have had training, yet we are finding that 
we can't always find jobs for them. Here are jobs where there is a 
chronic problem, tough jobs, jobs which require people to be away from 
home, often for long hours, jobs that do not pay as well as some other 
jobs. So there has been a chronic shortage.
  This bill serves both purposes, and it serves our Nation very well.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield back the balance 
of my time.
  Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I would urge my colleagues to 
join me in supporting this important legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Graves) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, S. 1393.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and 
nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

                          ____________________