The trucking industry’s push to streamline driver credentialing is moving ahead after a Senate committee decided July 31 to advance the Transportation Security Screening Modernization Act, which would eliminate redundant fees and background checks for essential transportation workers.
National Tank Truck Carriers and American Trucking Associations are among more than 150 organizations representing trucking, rail, energy, organized labor, agriculture, third-party logistics providers, and other key supply chain stakeholders who support of the bill, which was authored by Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi), Jon Tester (D-Montana), Deb Fischer (R-Nebraska), and Angus King (I-Maine).
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, led by Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), voted to advance the measure.
“Subjecting essential supply chain workers to the same exact background check multiple times in order to receive different credentials from the same agency does nothing to enhance security,” Chris Spear, ATA president and CEO, said in a news release. “This system only serves to pad government coffers by forcing truckers and other transportation workers to pay duplicative fees for a background check they’ve already cleared. Congress should not allow the inefficiencies of government bureaucracy to impede the efficiency of our supply chain.
“We applaud Sens. Wicker, Tester, Fischer, and King for introducing this bipartisan bill to support the hardworking men and women who keep our economy running, and we appreciate the leadership of Sens. Cantwell and Cruz, who were instrumental in bringing this commonsense bill one step closer to the finish line.”
The security screening bill allow workers to apply existing valid background checks to multiple TSA-managed credentialing programs, such as the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) and Hazardous Materials Endorsement (HME) programs. By eliminating duplicative screenings and harmonizing these programs, the bill would codify formal recommendations by the Government Accountability Office dating back to 2007. These recommendations were reaffirmed in 2020 in a comprehensive security assessment conducted by the Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center. The bill does not make any modifications to the backend security assessment conducted on individual applicants, ensuring that they undergo the same level of review as they do under current law.
A companion bill was previously introduced in the House by Representatives by Reps. Garret Graves (R-Louisiana), Adam Smith (D-Washington), Mark Green (R-Tennessee), Michael Guest (R-Mississippi), Salud Carbajal (D-California), and Dina Titus (D-Nevada) and is currently pending before the House Committee on Homeland Security.