[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 13681]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                NATIONAL TRUCK DRIVER APPRECIATION WEEK

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. Holding) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HOLDING. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of National Truck 
Driver Appreciation Week.
  Professional truck drivers in America deliver goods safely and on 
time to our hospitals, schools, and local grocers each day and are 
vital to both our local and our national economy.
  Mr. Speaker, last week, I recently sat down with a number of my North 
Carolina truck drivers and learned that their industry, like so many 
others in America, is facing a host of new rules and regulations by the 
Federal Government that is impacting their ability to retain current 
drivers and hire new ones.
  In North Carolina right now, Mr. Speaker, there is a shortage of up 
to 15,000 truck drivers. These are good-paying jobs that can average a 
salary of $50,000 and include benefits. In these difficult economic 
times, the Federal Government must be promoting policies that encourage 
companies to go out and hire that additional worker. Trucking is a 
great example of such an industry.
  Mr. Speaker, professional truck drivers have a vested interest in 
keeping our roads safe not only for their businesses but for everyone 
else that shares the highway.
  Let's commit, Mr. Speaker, to finding sensible solutions that reduce 
burdensome regulations and keep our roads safe.

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