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Oct 2, 2012 3:23 PM

The American Trucking Associations President and Chief Executive Officer Bill Graves thanked the House and Senate on October 1 for quickly passing the Military Commercial Drivers License Act of 2012, a bill that will ease the transition of recent veterans into jobs as commercial truck drivers.

“As the economy continues to recover, it is becoming ever more challenging for trucking companies to find qualified drivers to move America’s most essential goods,” Graves said. “Veterans with experience driving trucks in the military are highly sought after. Hats off to Senator Snowe and Representative Bucshon for leading the charge to eliminate a regulatory hurdle veterans now face in applying for a CDL.”

The bill, which would allow uniformed servicemembers to get a CDL where they are stationed, rather than in their home state, will make it easier for soldiers and sailors to move from military to civilian life.

“Trucking already faces the beginnings of a driver shortage, and with increases in freight demand, as well as demographic changes, we will soon see demand for drivers increase rapidly,” Graves said. “Making it easier for veterans to move into these jobs is a good thing for the military, for the veterans themselves, and for our industry. We urge President Obama to quickly sign this legislation into law.”