A new campaign launched Friday will promote programs that let veterans who recently drove large military vehicles skip the required skills test for a commercial driver's license. Other soldiers can attend a commercial driving school during their last six months of active duty. The GI Bill will also pay for 100% of commercial driver's license training and for some people even pay a housing allowance while they are in school.
The campaign will be part of a broader interagency effort to help veterans find good civilian jobs that the White House plans to announce on Monday.
U.S. armored vehicles assemble in Washington, D.C., ahead of the military parade in June 2025. Photo by AFP
The Transportation Department began enforcing existing English language requirements for truckers last summer. Concerns about truck driver qualifications then took on more urgency after an August crash in Florida, when a truck driver performed an illegal U-turn that killed three people. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that driver, who is from India, should never have been licensed in the first place.
Audits conducted in every state uncovered numerous non-domiciled commercial driver's licenses that remained valid long after an immigrant's work permits had expired or were issued without properly verifying their citizenship status.
