II

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1344

To provide training and technical assistance to Native Americans who are

interested in commercial vehicle driving careers.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

AUGUST 2, 2001

Mr. CAMPBELL introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs

A BILL

To provide training and technical assistance to Native Americans who are interested in commercial vehicle driving

careers.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Native American Com5 mercial Driving Training and Technical Assistance Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find8 ings:

9 (1) Despite the availability of abundant natural

10 resources on Indian lands and a rich cultural legacy
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1 that accords great value to self-determination, self2 reliance, and independence, Native Americans suffer

3 higher rates of unemployment, poverty, poor health,

4 substandard housing, and associated social ills than

5 those of any other group in the United States.

6 (2) The United States has an obligation to as7 sist Indian tribes with the creation of appropriate

8 economic and political conditions.

9 (3) The economic success and material well10 being of Native American communities depends on

11 the combined efforts of the Federal Government,

12 tribal governments, the private sector, and individ13 uals.

14 (4) Two tribally controlled community colleges,

15 D–Q University in the State of California and Fort

16 Peck Community College in the State of Montana,

17 currently offer commercial vehicle driving programs.

18 (5) The American Trucking Association reports

19 that at least until the year 2005, the trucking indus20 try will need to hire 403,000 truck drivers each year

21 to fill empty positions.

22 (6) According to the Federal Government Occu23 pational Handbook the commercial driving industry

24 is expected to increase about as fast as the average

25 for all occupations through the year 2008 as the
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1 economy grows and the amount of freight carried by

2 trucks increases.

3 (7) A career in commercial vehicle driving of4 fers a competitive salary, employment benefits, job

5 security, and a profession.

6 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act—

7 (1) to foster and promote job creation and eco8 nomic opportunities for Native Americans; and

9 (2) to provide education, technical, and training

10 assistance to Native Americans who are interested in

11 a commercial vehicle driving career.

12 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

13 In this Act:

14 (1) COMMERCIAL VEHICLE DRIVING.—The term

15 ‘‘commercial vehicle driving’’ means the driving of a

16 vehicle which is a tractor-trailer truck.

17 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

18 the Secretary of Labor.

19 SEC. 4. COMMERCIAL VEHICLE DRIVING TRAINING PRO20 GRAM.

21 (a) GRANTS.—The Secretary may award 4 grants, on

22 a competitive basis, to eligible entities to support pro23 grams providing training and certificates leading to the

24 professional development of individuals with respect to

25 commercial vehicle driving.
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1 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant

2 under subsection (a), an entity shall—

3 (1) be a tribally-controlled community college or

4 university (as defined in section 2 of the Tribally5 Controlled Community College or University Assist6 ance Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 1801)); and

7 (2) prepare and submit to the Secretary an ap8 plication at such time, in such manner, and con9 taining such information as the Secretary may re10 quire.

11 (c) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under subsection

12 (a), the Secretary shall give priority to—

13 (1) grant applications that propose training

14 that exceeds the United States Department of

15 Transportation’s Proposed Minimum Standards for

16 Training Tractor-Trailer Drivers; and

17 (2) grant applications that propose training

18 that exceeds the entry level truck driver certification

19 standards set by the Professional Truck Driver In20 stitute.

21 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

22 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be

23 necessary to carry out the Act.

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