Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he does not buy that there's a shortage of truck drivers in this country.
During a press conference last week, Duffy responded to a reporter's question about the possibility of there not being enough truckers if the federal government is successful in removing thousands of illegally licensed foreign driver in this county illegally.
Duffy said:
"There's a lot of Americans who want to get behind the wheel of a big rig. These are and have been great paying jobs. But, when you bring on someone who doesn't have a driver's license, they'll drive that truck for a much lower rate. Or someone who unlawfully got their license, they'll drive that rig for a lower rate.
"And, so what has happened is they've driven the prices down, and a lot of companies that have been around for a very long time are now starting to go out of business. So I do not buy the idea that there are not enough American drivers. To the contrary, there are enough American truck drivers to meet the demands we have in this country.
"I think you'll see we do have enough truck drivers to fill the space when we do what's right and take out these unlawful drivers. If you need more drivers, make the case. Tell people how great the industry is, how much you can make in a year by driving a truck.
"I feel very confident that if we are able to take out the unlawful, untrained, non-English speaking drivers, we will not have an issue on our roadways, we'll not have an issue with our deliveries. Our products will move, but they will move safer because we have better drivers who are driving those big rigs who have legal licenses and can axctually speak the English language."
Duffy said in a recent social media post that some 7,248 truckers have been removed for not being able to pass the English language proficiency test now required by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
