Pappas’s Bipartisan Legislation to Cut Red Tape on Trucking Apprenticeships for Veterans Advances Out of Committee with Unanimous Support
Today during a House Veterans' Affairs Committee markup, a bipartisan bill led by Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01), Ranking Member of the Economic Opportunity Subcommittee of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee (HVAC) advanced out of the Committee with unanimous, bipartisan support. The Veterans’ Transition to Trucking Act would cut red tape for veteran truckers by allowing VA to streamline the approval of certain apprenticeship programs to partner with VA.
“It’s unacceptable that veterans are losing employment opportunities due to unnecessary and redundant bureaucratic hurdles,” said Congressman Pappas. “Today the Veterans’ Affairs Committee advanced my bipartisan legislation with unanimous support to streamline the approval process for interstate trucking companies’ apprenticeship programs to partner with VA, easing the pathway for veterans to become truck drivers and supporting the trucking industry. I urge House leadership to swiftly bring this bill to the floor for a vote to get this done for our veterans.”
Background:
Currently, interstate trucking companies must get approval from every state they operate in for veterans to use their VA education benefits for apprenticeship programs at that company. VA has reported that some trucking companies are opting out of offering apprenticeships to veterans due to the bureaucratic hurdles of having to gain approval from over 20 different State Approving Agencies (SAAs). This legislation would help address this problem by allowing interstate commercial carriers to get one approval for all of their apprenticeship programs from VA, simplifying the administration of these programs for motor carriers and allowing them to accommodate more veterans as truck drivers.
Pappas introduced this legislation with Congressman Jen Kiggans (VA-02) in April.
This bipartisan legislation is endorsed by the American Trucking Association and Disabled American Veterans (DAV).