WASHINGTON – The American Trucking Associations has been joined by over 150 organizations representing trucking, rail, energy, organized labor, agriculture, third-party logistics providers and other key supply chain stakeholders in sending a letter to urge the House Homeland Security Committee to pass the Transportation Security Screening Modernization Act.
“There is no more effective way to thank truck drivers than by taking action to make their difficult jobs a little easier,” said Chris Spear, ATA president and CEO. “It is fitting that immediately following National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, members of the House Homeland Security Committee will have the opportunity to pass legislation to respect truckers’ time and money. ATA has marshaled over 150 supply chain organizations in support of the Transportation Security Screening Modernization Act because it reforms the outdated, inefficient and costly bureaucratic system that forces essential workers to pay duplicative fees and undergo duplicative background checks to obtain the credentials they need to do their jobs. We applaud the Members of Congress who authored this bipartisan bill to support the hardworking men and women who keep our economy running, and we appreciate the leadership of Representatives Green and Thompson who are working to move this commonsense bill through their committee.”
According to the ATA, the Homeland Security Committee is scheduled to markup the bill, which was introduced by Representatives 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).
ATA has been leading the effort to pass the bipartisan legislation to eliminate redundant fees and background checks for essential transportation workers.
As part of this comprehensive, ongoing advocacy effort, Spear headed to Capitol Hill last week to meet one-on-one with the bill’s original sponsors and the leaders of the Homeland Security Committee, Representatives Green and Bennie Thompson (D-Mississippi), to shore up support. These visits culminated with the committee announcing that it would hold a hearing on the bill on Wednesday.
According to the ATA, the Transportation Security Screening Modernization Act cuts through red tape to 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 threat assessment conducted on individual applicants, ensuring that they undergo the same level of review as they do under current law.
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation, led by Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), previously voted to advance the measure.
Click here to read the letter sent today by the supply chain coalition.
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
