WASHINGTON — A Senate lawmaker has jumped on the Trump administration’s crackdown on English proficiency for commercial truck drivers by looking to extend it from heavy freight to the gig economy.
Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., introduced on Thursday the Understanding Basic English Requirements (UBER) Act, which would require drivers participating in rideshare applications that receive federal government contracts to be proficient in English.
Under the act, noncompliant ride-share platforms would be banned from receiving federal contracts for five years.
“America is an English-speaking country. If you want to live and work in the United States, you need to be able to speak and read our language,” Tuberville asserted in introducing the legislation.
“Too many Americans have been killed as a result of relaxed standards and illegal immigrants who do not speak or read English and are driving on our roads. Rideshare companies, especially those that receive taxpayer funding, have an obligation to vet the drivers who are transporting American citizens on our roads.”
Specifically, the legislation would ensure ride-share drivers are able to:
- Converse with the general public and law enforcement officials in English.
- Understand American highway traffic signs.
- Respond to official inquiries in English.
- Make entries on reports and records in English.
Uber (NYSE: UBER) – as the name of the bill implies – would be a major target of the legislation. In July, the U.S. Government Services Administration, the federal government’s purchasing arm, renewed for another five years an exclusive agreement with Uber for Business to provide ride-share access to millions of federal employees, valued at $75 million.
According to the bill, in addition to major ride-share platforms such as Uber and Lyft, the English proficiency mandate would apply to federal contracts with any licensed entity providing shared transportation, including taxis, limos, carpooling, vanpooling, and shuttle services.
Tuberville acknowledged he wants to align English proficiency standards for gig drivers with restrictions put in place this year by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration that apply to truck driver commercial driver’s license requirements, which have led to thousands of trucks and drivers being placed out of service.
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