Three States Face Loss of Federal Funding Over Trump Trucking Mandate
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Tuesday warned California, New Mexico, and Washington that they have 30 days to comply with federal English proficiency rules for truck drivers or risk losing millions in federal funding.
The announcement follows a Department of Transportation investigation into an August 12 crash on the Florida Turnpike in which three people were killed. Authorities said the driver, Harjinder Singh, an illegal immigrant, caused the crash after making an illegal U-turn. Singh had been granted a commercial driver’s license in both California and Washington. New Mexico law enforcement also failed to administer an English proficiency test when Singh was stopped for speeding in July, investigators found.
“We at DOT and Federal Motor Carriers, we are not going to tolerate states that don’t comply with the rules that come from this department,” Duffy said at a press conference. “We are going to give these states 30 days to come into compliance with truck drivers speaking proficiently the English language, or we’re going to look at the federal funding that they receive under the Motor Carriers Safety Assistance Program.”
Under the mandate, California could lose $30 million, Washington $10 million, and New Mexico $7 million in funding if they fail to enforce the standards. The English proficiency rule was announced in May by the Trump administration and took effect at the end of June.
“When we did that, there was a lot of press that complained to us that we were being unfair to people, that we were being mean to people,” Duffy said. “And what we said was, ‘no, this is a safety issue.’ Making sure drivers of very heavy, 80,000-pound rigs can speak the language is truly a critical safety issue.”
A Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration review found that between June 25 and August 21, California allowed at least 23 drivers with documented English proficiency violations in other states to continue driving. Washington allowed six such drivers to remain on the road, while New Mexico allowed seven.
Duffy said additional enforcement measures would be considered if the states fail to comply within the 30-day deadline.
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