House passes bills related to military drivers

The U.S. House on June 26 passed two bills aimed at making it easier for qualified military veterans and reservists to drive commercial motor vehicles. H.R. 2258 would exempt active duty military and reserve personnel with qualifying experience from certain commercial driver’s license (CDL) requirements. H.R. 2547 would expand a provision in the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act related to medical exams performed by Department of Veterans Administration physicians to include qualified examiners who are not physicians. H.R. 2258 would expand to current active duty and reserve personnel the existing statutory exemption from the CDL skills test for certain former active duty and reserve personnel. Meanwhile, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration recently proposed a rule that would allow states to waive the CDL commercial driver's license (CDL) knowledge tests for certain former and current military personnel who have been employed within the past year in a military position requiring the operation of a commercial motor vehicle.