House lawmakers urge Labor secretary to speed truck driver training to ease supply chain
A truck driver passes through a gate at the Garden City Port Terminal on November 12, 2021 in Garden City, Georgia.
Sean Rayford | Getty Images
A bipartisan group of lawmakers urged Labor Secretary Marty Walsh on Wednesday to speed up a federal program that recruits and trains new trucker drivers to help ease the supply chain bottle necks that are disrupting the U.S. economy.
House Agriculture Committee Chairman David Scott, D-Ga., led more than 60 Democrats and Republicans in asking Walsh to expedite the application process for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act grant program, which recruits underprivileged job seekers for different industries. The program provides job training for dislocated workers, low-income individuals and unemployed youth.
Approving applications can take weeks or months, even if they have experience with long-haul trucking, the lawmakers told Walsh on Wednesday. The group urged Walsh to work with career…
