Rep. Pat Harrigan, R-N.C., leaves a meeting of the House Republican Conference in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jul. 22, 2025. (Tom Williams/Getty)
The bill would instruct states to administer English proficiency tests for applicants pursuing commercial driver's licenses (CDLs) and grant the secretary of transportation enhanced powers to oversee compliance.
If the secretary determines a state has failed to implement the standard, the bill grants them the ability to withhold funding for other aspects of its commercial driving program.
The bill also includes reporting requirements states must make annually to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration detailing the number of prospective, successful, and compliant applicants.
"The SAFE Drivers Act [requires] one uniform English test nationwide before any CDL is issued. No more guesswork, no more state-by-state loopholes, just one standard that keeps Americans safe," Harrigan said.
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The SAFE Drivers act comes on the heels of the Trump administration’s decision to withhold $40 million from California after Harjinder Singh, a 28-year-old illegal immigrant, struck and killed three people after making an illegal U-Turn in Florida in August. California, where Singh had attained the CDL, had refused to enforce English language requirements, according to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy.
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy testifies during a hearing before the House Appropriations Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, May 14, 2025. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
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"We have federal rules that require English proficiency, but no standardized test to enforce them, so states like California hand out commercial licenses to drivers who can't understand basic safety instructions," Harrigan said.
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Like other pieces of legislation, the SAFE Drivers Act likely won’t come to the floor for a vote until lawmakers resolve a 23-day shutdown and gridlock over how to fund the federal government. Consideration of a short-term spending bill failed for a 12th time in the Senate on Wednesday.
Leo Briceno is a politics reporter for the congressional team at Fox News Digital. He was previously a reporter with World Magazine.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gop-bill-would-require-all-truckers-pass-english-test-highway-safety-fears-grow