With Dalilah Coleman and her family in attendance, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee advanced a bill to strengthen CDL standards.

Referred to as Dalilah’s Law, Rep. David Rouzer, R-N.C., introduced an updated version of HR5688 that will crack down on the issuance of non-domiciled CDLs, ensure that truck drivers are proficient in English and remove CDL mills.

On Wednesday, March 18, the House T&I Committee voted 35-26 to advance Rouzer’s bill to the full House.

Unlike previous versions of the Dalilah Law, HR5688 does not require mandatory recertification for all CDL holders within 180 days.

Dalilah’s Law refers to Dalilah Coleman, who was 5 years old when she was severely injured in a crash involving a tractor-trailer driven by Partap Singh, who was later arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Coleman was a guest at the State of the Union address when President Donald Trump called for legislation to block illegal and unqualified drivers from obtaining a CDL in the U.S.

“Today we’re one step closer to safer roads for Dalilah Coleman, her family and all Americans,” Rouzer said. “Ensuring each truck driver is qualified and legally operating will protect the public from these tragic, yet preventable accidents … I look forward to working to get this bill through the House and Senate to answer President Trump’s call to restore public trust on our roadways.”

During the hearing, Rouzer and several other Republican lawmakers spoke out in favor of the bill, which would:

• Ensure all CDL holders are proficient in English
• Place drivers who fail to meet the law’s requirements out of service
• Require states to verify that they are not issuing CDLs to illegal immigrants
• Significantly increase penalties for states that fail to comply with the law
• Ban foreign dispatch services and brokers
• Crack down on CDL mills to ensure drivers entering the industry are receiving adequate training

Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., who holds a CDL and runs a trucking company, said the bill is common sense.

“We should only have the best people driving these trucks across this country, period,” Collins said. “I’m second-generation in the trucking industry. I’ve got my commercial driver’s license in my pocket. I’ve had it for 40 years now, so I not only know what it takes to get these licenses and what you have to go through, but I also know how important it is to have a commercial driver’s license and to be able to drive a truck. For the life of me, I can’t understand how these licenses have been issued to people who can’t speak or read English … There is a reason that we call these people professional drivers, because they’re out there on the roads with your family and my family. And I only want the best of the best of the best out there, because when things happen, they go bad fast.”

Shomari Figures, D-Ala., said he supports provisions requiring truck drivers to be proficient in English but believes HR5688 goes too far.

“To be totally honest, I don’t disagree with much that has been said by my Republican colleagues,” Figures said. “I think we all agree that we need to be supportive of a system that ensures safety, that ensures qualified individuals obtain CDLs, that there’s consistency and transparency in the CDL process, and that we’re putting the most qualified drivers on the road … But the problem is that this bill, as currently drafted, throws out the baby with the bath water. What I mean by that is if the goal here is to ensure that people who are obtaining CDLs that they can read and speak English, then we can do that. But we have text before us that’s going to eliminate people who have a lawful status in the United States who can speak English, who can read English, who can write English. This bill will eliminate some of those people from obtaining a CDL as written.”

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy released a statement in support of HR5688.

“I’m grateful to our strong House Republican leadership for putting Americans first,” Duffy said. “Representative Rouzer’s bill, Dalilah’s Law, codifies a simple premise: no English, no license. Unqualified and unvetted foreigners have no business getting behind the wheel of an 80,000-pound vehicle and killing innocent American families. President Trump was clear: pass Dalilah’s Law and safeguard American roads.”

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association also supports the bill.

“No family should ever have to endure the kind of tragedy that nearly took Dalilah Coleman’s life and inspired Dalilah’s Law,” OOIDA President Todd Spencer said. “OOIDA and truckers across America strongly support Chairman Rouzer’s Dalilah’s Law. This legislation represents a major step forward for highway safety and the integrity of the trucking profession.” LL