American Trucking Associations Chairman Ray Kuntz testified before the House Veteran's Affairs Subcommittee late last week on economic opportunity in support of expanded educational benefits for veterans.

Kuntz reiterated ATA's support for the goal of legislation (H.R. 1824) that would expand the Montgomery GI bill's accelerated benefit payments to truck driver training schools. Kuntz recommended that:
• the VA's current list of educational programs eligible for these benefits be replaced or revised to reflect career training opportunities in high-growth industries rather than solely in high-technology industries and,
• payment of accelerated benefits be limited to educational opportunities lasting one year or less; to better align the program with its original intent of providing affordable financing for high-cost, short-term educational training.
ATA commends Reps. Mike Michaud, D-Maine, John Boozman, R-Ark., Jeff Miller, R-Fla., and Stephanie Herseth, D-S.D., who reintroduced the measure that did not pass in previous congresses. An estimated 300,000 service men and women transition to the civilian sector every year, and of these, about 78,000 have significant transportation experience.
"Providing accelerated benefits to our men and women in the Armed Forces will make training more affordable for veterans and encourage them to pursue careers in professions needed to keep our economy growing," said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves. "This will attract many men and women to trucking at time when the industry and economy need them most," Graves said.
The long-haul heavy-duty truck transportation industry in the United States currently is experiencing a national shortage of 20,000 truck drivers. In the next 10 years, ATA expects the economy and the trucking industry to grow by 30 percent. Over the same period, economic growth will give rise to a need for a 2.2 percent average annual increase in the number of long-haul truckload drivers, or the creation of 320,000 additional jobs overall.
At least another 219,000 new truck drivers must be found to replace drivers currently of ages 55 and older who will retire over the next 10 years. Combining these two figures places total expansion and replacement hiring needs of the heavy-truckload sector at 539,000 or an average of about 54,000 drivers per year through 2014.