WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Joe Biden held a press conference on Monday, outlining the progress his administration has made in helping to get more drivers into the seats of America’s trucking industry.
The president was joined by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to discuss the administration’s “Trucking Action Plan” to help strengthen the nation’s supply chain.
Biden first outlined his plan in 2021, saying, “We are asking industry, labor, and all levels of government to partner with us to address these trucking workforce challenges and begin building a next-generation trucking workforce. A stronger trucking workforce is one where trucking jobs are good, safe, and stable—jobs that employers can attract a new generation of drivers into while retaining existing drivers to deliver for clients and grow their businesses. The nation’s trucking workforce also demands clear, debt-free paths into these good jobs through high-quality training, such as Registered Apprenticeships, which prepare trainees and provide employers with a steady pipeline of skilled, safe, and experienced drivers.”
The trucking industry took a hard hit during the COVID-19 Pandemic. According to the American Trucking Association, the United States is suffering a deficit of nearly 80,000 truckers.
In June of last year, the Biden Administration created a “Supply Chain Disruption Task Force.” The task force aims to ensure that the nation’s supply chain is not affected in the near term as the wheels of the U.S. economy start turning again.
On Monday, President Biden said, “So far in 2022, we’re issuing CDLs at double the rate of last year — 120,000 in January and February alone.”