[House Report 115-189]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


115th Congress    }                                     {       Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session      }                                     {      115-189

======================================================================



 
                              ADVANCE ACT

                                _______
                                

 June 23, 2017.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Shuster, from the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 2258]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, to whom 
was referred the bill (H.R. 2258) to require that certain 
standards for commercial driver's licenses applicable to former 
members of the armed services or reserves also apply to current 
members of the armed services or reserves, having considered 
the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment and 
recommend that the bill as amended do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose of Legislation...........................................     2
Background and Need for Legislation..............................     2
Hearings.........................................................     2
Legislative History and Consideration............................     2
Committee Votes..................................................     2
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................     3
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................     3
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................     3
Performance Goals and Objectives.................................     4
Advisory of Earmarks.............................................     4
Duplication of Federal Programs..................................     4
Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings..............................     4
Federal Mandate Statement........................................     4
Preemption Clarification.........................................     4
Advisory Committee Statement.....................................     5
Applicability of Legislative Branch..............................     5
Section-by-Section Analysis of Legislation.......................     5
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............     5

    The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``Active Duty Voluntary Acquisition of 
Necessary Credentials for Employment Act'' or the ``ADVANCE Act''.

SEC. 2. COMMERCIAL DRIVER'S LICENSE STANDARDS FOR SERVICE MEMBERS AND 
                    VETERANS.

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

                         Purpose of Legislation

    H.R. 2258 exempts current members of the armed services or 
reserve components from certain testing requirements to obtain 
commercial driver's licenses if they had qualifying experience 
while serving in the armed services or reserve components.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    The Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act; 
P.L. 114-94) authorized the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Administration to exempt former 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.
    H.R. 2258 extends this exemption to individuals who are 
currently serving in either the armed services or reserve 
components.

                                Hearings

    No hearings were held on H.R. 2258.

                 Legislative History and Consideration

    On May 2, 2017, Congressman Pete Aguilar (D-CA) introduced 
H.R. 2258.
    On May 24, 2017, the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure met in open session to consider H.R. 2258. 
Congressman Sam Graves (R-MO) offered an amendment to make a 
technical correction, which was adopted by voice vote. The 
Committee ordered the bill, as amended, to be reported 
favorably to the House by a voice vote with a quorum present.

                            Committee Votes

    Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires each committee report to include the 
total number of votes cast for and against on each record vote 
on a motion to report and on any amendment offered to the 
measure or matter, and the names of those members voting for 
and against. There were no recorded votes taken in connection 
with consideration of H.R. 2258.

                      Committee Oversight Findings

    With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(1) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee's oversight findings and recommendations are 
reflected in this report.

               New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures

    Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives does not apply where a cost estimate and 
comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974 has been timely submitted prior to the filing of the 
report and is included in the report. Such a cost estimate is 
included in this report.

               Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

    With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(3) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 
402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has 
received the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2258 from the 
Director of the Congressional Budget Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                     Washington, DC, June 14, 2017.
Hon. Bill Shuster,
Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2258, ADVANCE Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Sarah Puro.
            Sincerely,
                                                        Keith Hall.
    Enclosure.

H.R. 2258--ADVANCE Act

    H.R. 2258 would exempt active-duty members or reservists of 
the armed forces from certain testing requirements to obtain a 
state commercial driver's license if they have qualifying 
military experience. Under current law, some veterans are 
exempt from such requirements.
    Under regulations proposed by the Federal Motor Carrier 
Safety Administration (FMCSA), states could waive testing 
requirements for current and former members of the military who 
regularly operate (or operated within the last year) a 
commercial motor vehicle. Under current law, all states are 
permitted to waive testing requirements, if they so choose, for 
qualified veterans, reservists, members of the National Guard, 
and active-duty personnel until October 27, 2018. Based on 
information from FMCSA about the costs of implementing the 
pending regulation, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 2258 
would have no significant additional effect on the federal 
budget over the 2018-2022 period.
    Enacting H.R. 2258 would not affect direct spending or 
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO 
estimates that enacting H.R. 2258 would not increase net direct 
spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 
10-year periods beginning in 2028.
    H.R. 2258 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Sarah Puro. The 
estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                    Performance Goals and Objectives

    With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(4) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
performance goal and objective of this legislation is to ease 
the process for members of the armed services and reserve 
components with qualifying experience who are trying to obtain 
their commercial driver's license.

                          Advisory of Earmarks

    Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House 
of Representatives, the Committee is required to include a list 
of congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited 
tariff benefits as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of 
rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives. No 
provision in the bill includes an earmark, limited tax benefit, 
or limited tariff benefit under clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of 
rule XXI.

                    Duplication of Federal Programs

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee finds that no provision 
of H.R. 2258 establishes or reauthorizes a program of the 
federal government known to be duplicative of another federal 
program, a program that was included in any report from the 
Government Accountability Office to Congress pursuant to 
section 21 of Public Law 111-139, or a program related to a 
program identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal 
Domestic Assistance.

                  Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings

    Pursuant to section 3(i) of H. Res. 5, 115th Cong. (2017), 
the Committee finds that enacting H.R. 2258 does not direct the 
completion of a specific rule making within the meaning of 
section 551 of title 5, United States Code.

                       Federal Mandate Statement

    The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of federal 
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform 
Act (Public Law 104-4).

                        Preemption Clarification

    Section 423 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 
requires the report of any Committee on a bill or joint 
resolution to include a statement on the extent to which the 
bill or joint resolution is intended to preempt state, local, 
or tribal law. The Committee states that H.R. 2258 does not 
preempt any state, local, or tribal law.

                      Advisory Committee Statement

    No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) 
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act are created by this 
legislation.

                  Applicability of Legislative Branch

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to 
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public 
services or accommodations within the meaning of section 
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act (Public Law 
104-1).

               Section-by-Section Analysis of Legislation


Section 1. Short title

    Section 1 is the short title of the bill, which is the 
``Active Duty Voluntary Acquisition of Necessary Credentials 
for Employment Act'' or the ``ADVANCE Act''.

Section 2. Commercial driver's license standards for service members 
        and veterans

    Section 2 exempts 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.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italic, and existing law in which no 
change is proposed is shown in roman):

TITLE 49, UNITED STATES CODE

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *



SUBTITLE VI--MOTOR VEHICLE AND DRIVER PROGRAMS

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


PART B--COMMERCIAL

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


CHAPTER 313--COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE OPERATORS

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *



Sec. 31305. General driver fitness, testing, and training

  (a) Minimum Standards for Testing and Fitness.--The Secretary 
of Transportation shall prescribe regulations on minimum 
standards for testing and ensuring the fitness of an individual 
operating a commercial motor vehicle. The regulations--
          (1) shall prescribe minimum standards for written and 
        driving tests of an individual operating a commercial 
        motor vehicle;
          (2) shall require an individual who operates or will 
        operate a commercial motor vehicle to take a driving 
        test in a vehicle representative of the type of vehicle 
        the individual operates or will operate;
          (3) shall prescribe minimum testing standards for the 
        operation of a commercial motor vehicle and may 
        prescribe different minimum testing standards for 
        different classes of commercial motor vehicles;
          (4) shall ensure that an individual taking the tests 
        has a working knowledge of--
                  (A) regulations on the safe operation of a 
                commercial motor vehicle prescribed by the 
                Secretary and contained in title 49, Code of 
                Federal Regulations; and
                  (B) safety systems of the vehicle;
          (5) shall ensure that an individual who operates or 
        will operate a commercial motor vehicle carrying a 
        hazardous material--
                  (A) is qualified to operate the vehicle under 
                regulations on motor vehicle transportation of 
                hazardous material prescribed under chapter 51 
                of this title;
                  (B) has a working knowledge of--
                          (i) those regulations;
                          (ii) the handling of hazardous 
                        material;
                          (iii) the operation of emergency 
                        equipment used in response to 
                        emergencies arising out of the 
                        transportation of hazardous material; 
                        and
                          (iv) appropriate response procedures 
                        to follow in those emergencies; and
                  (C) is licensed by a State to operate the 
                vehicle after having first been determined 
                under section 5103a of this title as not posing 
                a security risk warranting denial of the 
                license.
          (6) shall establish minimum scores for passing the 
        tests;
          (7) shall ensure that an individual taking the tests 
        is qualified to operate a commercial motor vehicle 
        under regulations prescribed by the Secretary and 
        contained in title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, to 
        the extent the regulations apply to the individual; and
          (8) may require--
                  (A) issuance of a certification of fitness to 
                operate a commercial motor vehicle to an 
                individual passing the tests; and
                  (B) the individual to have a copy of the 
                certification in the individual's possession 
                when the individual is operating a commercial 
                motor vehicle.
  (b) Requirements for Operating Vehicles.--(1) Except as 
provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, an individual may 
operate a commercial motor vehicle only if the individual has 
passed written and driving tests that meet the minimum 
standards prescribed by the Secretary under subsection (a) of 
this section to operate the vehicle and has a commercial 
driver's license to operate the vehicle.
  (2) The Secretary may prescribe regulations providing that an 
individual may operate a commercial motor vehicle for not more 
than 90 days if the individual--
          (A) passes a driving test for operating a commercial 
        motor vehicle that meets the minimum standards 
        prescribed under subsection (a) of this section; and
          (B) has a driver's license that is not suspended, 
        revoked, or canceled.
  (c) Standards for Training.--Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety 
Enhancement Act of 2012, the Secretary shall issue final 
regulations establishing minimum entry-level training 
requirements for an individual operating a commercial motor 
vehicle--
          (1) addressing the knowledge and skills that--
                  (A) are necessary for an individual operating 
                a commercial motor vehicle to safely operate a 
                commercial motor vehicle; and
                  (B) must be acquired before obtaining a 
                commercial driver's license for the first time 
                or upgrading from one class of commercial 
                driver's license to another class;
          (2) addressing the specific training needs of a 
        commercial motor vehicle operator seeking passenger or 
        hazardous materials endorsements;
          (3) requiring effective instruction to acquire the 
        knowledge, skills, and training referred to in 
        paragraphs (1) and (2), including classroom and behind-
        the-wheel instruction;
          (4) requiring certification that an individual 
        operating a commercial motor vehicle meets the 
        requirements established by the Secretary; and
          (5) requiring a training provider (including a public 
        or private driving school, motor carrier, or owner or 
        operator of a commercial motor vehicle) that offers 
        training that results in the issuance of a 
        certification to an individual under paragraph (4) to 
        demonstrate that the training meets the requirements of 
        the regulations, through a process established by the 
        Secretary.
  (d) Standards for Training and Testing of [Veteran Operators] 
Service Members, Reservists, and Veterans._
          (1) In general.--Not later than December 31, 2016, 
        the Secretary shall modify the regulations prescribed 
        under subsections (a) and (c) to--
                  (A) exempt a covered individual from all or a 
                portion of a driving test if the covered 
                individual had experience in the armed forces 
                or reserve components driving vehicles similar 
                to a commercial motor vehicle;
                  (B) ensure that a covered individual may 
                apply for an exemption under [subparagraph (A) 
                during] subparagraph (A)--
                          (i) while serving in the armed forces 
                        or reserve components; and
                          (ii) during, at least, the 1-year 
                        period beginning on the date on which 
                        such individual separates from service 
                        in the armed forces or reserve 
                        components; and
                  (C) credit the training and knowledge a 
                covered individual received in the armed forces 
                or reserve components driving vehicles similar 
                to a commercial motor vehicle for purposes of 
                satisfying minimum standards for training and 
                knowledge.
          (2) Definitions.--In this subsection, the following 
        definitions apply:
                  (A) Armed forces.--The term ``armed forces'' 
                has the meaning given that term in section 
                101(a) of title 10.
                  (B) Covered individual.--The term ``covered 
                individual'' means an individual over the age 
                of 21 years who is--
                          (i) a current or former member of the 
                        armed forces; or
                          (ii) a current or former member of 
                        the reserve components.
                  (C) Reserve components.--The term ``reserve 
                components'' means--
                          (i) the Army National Guard of the 
                        United States;
                          (ii) the Army Reserve;
                          (iii) the Navy Reserve;
                          (iv) the Marine Corps Reserve;
                          (v) the Air National Guard of the 
                        United States;
                          (vi) the Air Force Reserve; and
                          (vii) the Coast Guard Reserve.

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