Who Holds the Pen: Where Trucking Bills Really Begin in the Senate
This is part of my Know Who Holds the Pen series – and the last in this 4-part series. The final book, releasing by the end of August, will go even deeper into this topic and show drivers exactly who to contact before a bill ever makes the news.
The Question Most Drivers Never Ask
If you’re like most people, you probably think new laws for truck drivers start with one senator, one idea, and one vote. That’s not how it works.
The truth is, every bill has to start in a “committee” before it goes anywhere else. And where it starts often decides if it lives, dies, or gets changed into something completely different.
Think of a committee like a “dispatch office” for laws. It’s where the freight – in this case, a bill – first shows up. And just like freight, if it goes to the wrong dock, it’s not going anywhere fast.
What Is a Senate Committee?
A Senate committee is a group of senators who focus on one main area – like transportation, labor, veterans, finance, or agriculture.
Each committee is like its own mini-Senate. They hold hearings, invite witnesses, change the bill, and decide whether to send it to the full Senate for a vote.
If the committee doesn’t like the bill, it might never move forward. That means most laws live or die long before you ever hear about them on the news.
- Three Real Trucking Bills and Where They Went:
- Commercial Motor Vehicle English Proficiency Act
- What it says: You can’t get a CDL unless you can read, write, and understand English. No written tests in other languages.
- Where it went: The Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee.
- Why there: This committee is in charge of road safety, driver qualifications, and transportation policy. Since this bill is about safety and qualifications, it goes here.
- Strengthening Supply Chains Through Truck Driver Incentives Act
- What it says: Gives drivers tax credits – up to $10,000 for new drivers or apprentices, and $7,500 for experienced ones – to help keep CDL holders in the job.
- Where it went: The Finance Committee (because it’s about taxes) and sometimes the Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee (HELP) if the bill focuses on jobs, training, and keeping workers.
- Why there: It’s part tax law and part labor policy.
- Veterans’ Transition to Trucking Act of 2025
- What it says: Makes it easier for the VA to approve multi-state trucking apprenticeship programs so veterans can start working sooner.
- Where it went: The Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
- Why there: Even though it’s about trucking, it’s really about veterans’ benefits – so it’s not considered transportation or labor for the purpose of where it starts.
How This Looks in Plain Words
The English Proficiency for CDLs bill went to the Commerce Committee because it’s about road safety.
The Truck Driver Tax Credit bill went to the Finance Committee because it’s about money – and it could also go to the Labor (HELP) Committee because it’s about keeping jobs filled.
The Veterans’ Trucking Apprenticeship bill went to the Veterans’ Affairs Committee because it’s about helping veterans get jobs, not about roads or wages.
What About Non-Domiciled and Visa Drivers?
Now let’s talk about something big that a lot of drivers bring up – non-domiciled drivers (people licensed here but living in another country) and visa drivers (foreign drivers brought in through a work visa program).
That’s not a transportation issue – it’s a labor issue. Why? Because it’s about who is allowed to work here, how they’re classified, and what the wage rules are.
That means bills about non-domiciled drivers or visa driver programs would go in front of the Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee in the Senate – the same one that handles workplace rules, training, and labor protections.
This is huge, because if you’re fighting against unsafe driver programs, low wages, or job displacement by foreign labor, you’re not just fighting a trucking fight – you’re fighting a labor fight. And the senators who decide labor bills might not even be the ones who normally touch transportation laws.
Why Committees Decide the Fate of Trucking Laws
Here’s why all this matters:
If you’re a driver and you want a bill passed (or stopped), you need to know which committee has it.
That’s the group of senators you have to contact. That’s where the hearings will happen. That’s where the bill will get stronger or weaker.
If you’re aiming your message at the wrong senators, you’re wasting your voice.
How This Will Be Covered in the Fourth Know Who Holds the Pen Book
In the fourth book in this series, we’re going to dig deep into every Senate committee that handles trucking-related bills – from transportation to labor to finance. We’ll show you:
- The names of the senators on each committee
- Which states they represent
- How to contact them directly
- Examples of bills they’ve handled in the past
We’ll also break down how to track a bill’s movement, so you know exactly when to speak up, before the media ever runs the story.
| Committee | Bill Example | Reason It Went There |
| Commerce, Science & Transportation | English Proficiency for CDLs | Focuses on road and safety regulations |
| Finance/HELP (Labor-related) | Truck Driver Tax Incentives | Blends tax policy with workforce retention |
| Veterans’ Affairs | Veterans’ Apprenticeship Approval Reform | Centers on veterans’ benefits, not trucking |
Side Note: See the chart above for a visual breakdown of where trucking bills go in the Senate.
Each committee has a different role:
- Transportation – road safety, driver qualifications, CDL rules
- Labor (HELP) – visa drivers, workforce rules, job training
- Finance – tax credits and incentives
- Veterans – trucking apprenticeship programs for veterans
Some bills may also pass through other committees like Infrastructure (highway funding, freight corridors) or Homeland Security (border, port, and hazmat oversight).
The Bottom Line for Drivers
Bills about trucks don’t all go to the same place. Some are about road safety, some are about taxes, some are about jobs, and some are about veterans. And when it comes to labor issues like visa drivers, you’re in a whole different part of the Senate.
If you want to protect your job, your pay, and your industry, you have to know who holds the pen – because that’s who writes the first and most important version of the law.
Will Cook | A Driver’s Perspective