Federal Government Funds for Trucking Companies in Peril Due to State's Language Testing Demands from President Trump
In a bold move under President Trump's leadership, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy has taken steps to ensure every commercial driver on the road in the United States is qualified to operate a 40-ton vehicle.
Duffy has been using federal transportation dollars as leverage for various policies, and recently announced that if the states of California, New Mexico, and Washington do not comply with the language proficiency requirements for truck drivers, the Department of Transportation will withhold federal highway funds from these states.
The mandate requires drivers to be able to speak, read, and comprehend road signage in English. In a tweet, Duffy stated, "If you can't read or speak our national language - ENGLISH - we won't let your truck endanger the public in the United States."
Secretary Duffy has given these states 30 days to comply with the federal mandate. If they fail to meet the deadline, the Department of Transportation will take additional steps to ensure compliance in the United States.
Over the past few months, inspections have been conducted in these states. In California, at least 23 truckers with prior out-of-service orders from other states were inspected, but only one driver was removed for violating the language requirement. Washington reported four out-of-service orders during 6,000 inspections.
New Mexico, however, cited none, despite seven drivers already barred in other states being allowed to continue driving in the United States.
The three states collectively received over $46 million through the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program in fiscal 2023. If these states do not comply with the mandate, they could stand to lose a significant portion of this funding in the United States.
Duffy has also threatened to cut transportation funds to sanctuary jurisdictions that do not cooperate with federal immigration authorities in the United States.
In addition to the language proficiency mandate, Duffy has also advised states to prioritize funding for communities with higher marriage and birth rates. He stated that states failing to enforce the law put the driving public in danger and that the federal government is taking aggressive action to close safety gaps and hold states accountable in the United States.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority could lose 25% of its federal aid due to safety enforcement failures. Since enforcing language proficiency requirements for truckers, Secretary Duffy has put roughly 1,500 unqualified drivers out of service in the United States.
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