Mary E. Miller

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Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend and colleague from Wyoming, Representative Hageman, for hosting this important Special Order. Mr. Speaker, I rise today representing central Illinois, a region that sits at the crossroads of our Nation's transportation network. Illinois is one of our Nation's most important hubs for interstate commerce, driven in large part by a thriving trucking industry. Trucking supports nearly 340,000 jobs in my home State. Ninety-five percent of Illinois' manufactured goods are transported by trucks. Seventy percent of the State's towns and communities depend exclusively on trucks to move their products. Looking at the combined total of all commercial shipments, Illinois is the third busiest freight State and fourth by tonnage. With that type of volume comes an enormous responsibility to keep our roads and transported goods safe. I believe this is a matter of national security. Every American deserves to travel our roads without the threat of an illegal alien behind the wheel of a commercial vehicle who cannot understand road signs. Congress has a duty and an obligation to ensure our laws establish strong standards for commercial drivers and give law enforcement the tools necessary to keep unqualified drivers off our roads. Multiple sanctuary States, including my home State of Illinois, are issuing driver's licenses and CDLs to illegals. This creates an extreme level of risk for all those on the road. The consequences can be deadly. Last year, an Illinois-based company, JKC Trucking, sounded the alarm about the rampant abuse of our licensing system and the growing threat of illegal truckers on American roads. The company showed this issue not only leads to decreased safety, but also leads to the closure of many honest, professional American trucking businesses because they are unable to compete against illegal companies and illegal drivers. Those are the men and women I want to recognize today, the professional truck drivers who don't cut corners, who work long hours to make sure our communities have what they need. The food on grocery store shelves, medicine and prescription drugs in our pharmacies, the materials used to build our homes all depend on a reliable trucking industry. America moves forward because of our truckers. America survives its harshest winters and hottest summers because of our truckers. These men and women are often away from their families for days or weeks at a time, all so communities like mine are well stocked and ready for the day ahead. They deserve a Congress that respects their work and stands up for an industry that is essential to our economy and our way of life. I want to pay a special thanks to Representatives Taylor, Hageman, Harrigan, and Figures for joining me in launching the bipartisan Congressional Trucking Caucus. For the first time in U.S. history, we have a caucus focused directly on addressing the issues related to America's trucking industry and on policies that promote integrity, safety, and growth in industry. I look forward to working with my colleagues on the caucus to defend our hardworking American truckers and to keep our roads safe. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Hageman for her continued friendship and leadership on this issue.