Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Troy Balderson this morning led more than 60 Members of Congress in a letter sent to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg calling on the Department of Transportation (DOT) to streamline redundant, burdensome, and costly barriers preventing haulers from pursuing in-demand careers.

"The licensing process for truck drivers should - most importantly - ensure high standards of safety and competence for those behind the wheel. Instead, redundancies and overly burdensome requirements are worsening driver shortages, and pushing the limits of our existing workforce," said Congressman Balderson, a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. "The American people are hurting from empty shelves to skyrocketing prices on everyday essentials. Our letter suggests safe steps that can help reduce the supply chain backlog by ensuring the uninterrupted delivery of motor fuel products that American consumers rely on."

Amid ongoing supply chain and price pressures plaguing the transportation industry, a national shortage of qualified drivers is making it difficult to deliver products in a timely manner. This shortage is particularly severe within the motor fuel industry, which requires additional hazardous materials license endorsements under federal law.

“The HAZMAT truck driver shortage is serious, and as we approach the Fourth of July travel weekend, the Energy Marketers of America looks forward to working with the Administration on providing short-term solutions to get qualified HAZMAT truck drivers on the road that will help alleviate prices at the pump.  We thank the 67 House lawmakers, especially Congressman Balderson, who signed the letter to elevate this critical issue to top Biden Administration officials,” said Rob Underwood, President of the Energy Marketers of America. 

“As we continue to work to untangle the supply chain, a significant tool at our disposal would be streamlining licensing and credentialing processes to make it easier for hard-working Americans to get into important jobs, like transporting fuel," said Edwin Gilroy, Senior Vice President of Legislative Affairs for the American Trucking Association. “Congressman Balderson’s suggestion to streamline and simplify the training for hazardous materials transportation, as well as pending legislation to reduce redundant background checks, are two positive steps in that direction and we believe deserve serious consideration.”

The letter, sent to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg Friday morning, recommends DOT consider the following changes:

• Modifying the hazardous materials training and testing requirements to focus on HAZMAT-specific education.
  
  
• Streamlining redundancies in the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Security Threat enrollment process that would allow Commerical Drivers License (CDL) holders to enroll in more than one program: Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC); HAZMAT; and TSA Pre-Check.

The following Members joined Representative Balderson in signing the letter: Representatives Elise Stefanik (New York); Ralph Norman (South Carolina); Trent Kelly (Mississippi); Andy Barr (Kentucky); Mariannette Miller-Meeks (Iowa); Ken Calvert (California); Tom O’Halleran (Arizona); Buddy Carter (Georgia); Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Washington); Drew Ferguson (Georgia); Sanford Bishop (Georgia); Barry Loudermilk (Georgia); Debbie Lesko (Arizona); Morgan Griffith (Virginia); Randy Feenstra (Iowa); David Rouzer (North Carolina); John Rose (Tennessee); Vicky Hartzler (Missouri); Yvette Herrell (New Mexico); Pete Stauber (Minnesota); Nancy Mace (South Carolina); Don Bacon (Nebraska); Randy Weber (Texas); Rodney Davis (Illinois); Steve Chabot (Ohio); Tim Walberg (Michigan); Rick Allen (Georgia); Kelly Armstrong (North Dakota) Darin LaHood (Illinois); Bill Johnson (Ohio);  Greg Murphy (North Carolina); Bob Gibbs (Ohio); Doug Lamborn (Colorado); Scott Perry (Pennsylvania); William Timmons (South Carolina); Michael Guest (Mississippi); Diana Harshbarger (Tennessee); Garret Graves (Louisiana); Mark Amodei (Neveda); Scott Desjarlais (Tennessee); Tim Burchett (Tennessee); Ben Cline (Virginia); David Valadao (California); David McKinley (West Virginia); Liz Cheney (Wyoming); Robert Aderholt (Alabama); Dan Newhouse (Washington); Steven Palazzo (Mississippi); Madison Cawthorn (North Carolina); Michael McCaul (Texas); Mark Green (Tennessee); Ashley  Hinson (Iowa); Guy Reschenthaler (Pennsylvania); Dusty Johnson (South Dakota); Michael Burgess (Texas); Adrian Smith (Nebraska); Young Kim (California); Burgess Owens (Utah); Richard Hudson (North Carolina); Dave Joyce (Ohio); Beth Van Duyne (Texas); Rick Crawford (Arkansas); Michael Waltz (Florida); David Schweikert (Arizona); Brad Wenstrup (Ohio); and Michelle Fischbach (Minnesota).