(Big Sandy, Mont.) –  Following efforts from Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester, President Joe Biden signed into law Tester’s bipartisan Veteran Improvement Commercial Driver License Act—legislation that will help veterans more easily use their earned education benefits to become truckers.

The Senator’s bill will help bolster the trucking workforce by cutting red tape that has prevented veterans from using their GI Bill Benefits to obtain a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) through approved commercial driver education programs. This will improve veterans’ accessibility to CDL schools and help veterans pursue well-paying jobs in the trucking industry.

“The men and women who served our country earned their GI Bill benefits, and they should be able to use them to pursue a well-paying career in the trucking industry without red tape standing in their way,” said Chairman Tester. “Truckers and transportation workers fuel our economy, and I’m proud our commonsense law will allow veterans to earn a living while helping combat the truck driver shortage by bringing more qualified truckers into the fold.”

“Returning servicemembers should never have to worry about red tape preventing them from achieving the American dream that they fought to defend,” said American Trucking Associations (ATA) Senior Vice President of Legislative Affairs Henry Hanscom. “ATA thanks Senator Tester for supporting this legislation, which will make it easier for the men and women who have served our country to enter fulfilling careers in trucking. The enactment of this commonsense, bipartisan law is a win-win for veterans and our nation’s trucking industry.”

Previously, educational programs offering CDLs were prevented from accepting GI Bill benefits for two years after opening, including existing approved schools that opened new locations. This law will now allow new branches of already approved institutions to accept GI Bill benefits immediately upon opening.

Tester has been a strong advocate for expanding veterans’ access to jobs in the trucking industry. In addition to championing the Veteran Improvement Commercial Driver License Act, Tester introduced the bipartisan Veterans Transition to Trucking Act in March. This legislation would make it easier for veterans to use Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) education benefits to access trucking apprenticeship programs that operate across multiple states and expand access to interstate commercial trucking jobs for veterans.