[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.
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