Efforts to require English proficiency across the U.S. trucking workforce are converging on Capitol Hill and inside the U.S. Department of Transportation, setting the stage for a de facto national mandate that could arrive faster than the industry expected. A new FreightWaves analysis points to overlapping bills that, together with recent enforcement moves, are laying the groundwork for a uniform standard.
The latest legislative volley landed on October 16, when Sen. Tom Cotton introduced the Secure Commercial Driver Licensing Act (S.3013). The bill would mandate that all commercial driver’s license (CDL) testing be conducted only in English and give the transportation secretary authority to suspend or revoke a state’s ability to issue non‑domiciled CDLs if it falls out of compliance. Rep. Andy Barr filed companion legislation in the House the same day, signaling bicameral coordination. Both measures were referred to the Senate Commerce Committee on October 16.
Those bills arrive just as USDOT escalates pressure on states to enforce language rules that federal officials say already exist in regulation. On October 15, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy moved to withhold about $40.6 million in Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program funding from California, asserting the state “is the only state in the nation” not enforcing roadside English checks and out‑of‑service orders for failing drivers. DOT said funding would be restored if California begins ELP assessments during inspections and places noncompliant drivers out of service.
California disputes the charge, arguing its licensure and oversight are compatible with federal rules and noting that CDL holders licensed in the state have a significantly lower fatal crash rate than the national average. The standoff sharpened this week as California reiterated it doesn’t view routine roadside English tests as necessary, even after USDOT’s penalty. Washington and New Mexico, which were also warned this summer, have moved to align with federal directives.
For carriers and shippers, the mechanics matter as much as the politics. Since roadside enforcement ramped in June, roughly 6,000 drivers have been sidelined for failing English‑proficiency checks, according to recent reporting. That is a small share of the overall driver pool but large enough to tighten capacity at the margins, especially if states intensify inspections under threat of losing federal dollars. Industry advocates have also raised concerns about subjectivity in how roadside tests are administered and the risk of uneven, potentially discriminatory enforcement.
The newest Senate bill goes further than enforcement guidance by directing the “how” of CDL testing: English‑only, no multilingual alternatives. If enacted alongside stepped‑up federal oversight, it would narrow state discretion and make it harder for local licensing practices to diverge. That design explains why overlapping proposals matter: combined with funding leverage, they reduce the number of escape hatches that have allowed patchwork compliance to persist.
The political rationale is being reinforced with recent, high‑profile safety cases. Federal officials have repeatedly cited an August fatal crash in Florida involving a driver with limited English proficiency to justify the crackdown and the threat to claw back more money if states don’t comply. Regardless of where one stands on the policy, that narrative is resonating with lawmakers advancing English‑testing bills and with agencies now tying compliance to grants that underwrite state inspections and audits.
What to watch next: whether Senate Commerce takes up S.3013 quickly, whether the House moves the Barr companion bill, and how rapidly states modify inspection playbooks to avoid funding losses. For fleets, the near‑term operational play is straightforward—screen and train for English proficiency, document it, and prepare drivers for consistent roadside interactions—because the mix of legislation and funding pressure is steering the market toward one outcome: English isn’t just preferred; it’s becoming table stakes.
Sources: FreightWaves, Reuters, Associated Press, The Washington Post, Congress.gov, U.S. Department of Transportation, Overdrive
This article was prepared exclusively for TruckStopInsider.com. Republishing is permitted only with proper credit and a link back to the original source.
