The American Trucking Associations last week filed comments critical of hazardous materials endorsement rules proposed by the Transportation Safety Administration, which was established by the U.S. Patriot Act.

The TSA has proposed that all CDL drivers pass background checks, including fingerprinting, before they can receive or renew a hazardous materials endorsement.
In a 15-page document, the ATA expressed continued “serious concerns” with TSA’s plan. ATA said that its previously stated concerns “have been ignored and the TSA has acted arbitrarily and capriciously in proceeding forward with a decentralized, fingerprint-based background check system that will impose higher than necessary costs, leaves open a security loophole, and has a disproportionate adverse impact upon small business.”
The ATA asks TSA to implement a name-based check in place of the fingerprint-based plan. The association also suggests establishment of a “centralized system of collecting necessary biographical information. ATA also asks TSA to establish a formal mechanism to ensure that motor carriers receive prompt notice from TSA concerning the revocation of a driver’s hazardous materials endorsement.”