House Lawmakers Introduce Legislation to Streamline Federal Background Checks 

December 6, 2023

NFCH-23-06

The Energy Marketers of America (EMA) have signed onto a letter endorsing H.R. 5840, the Transportation Security Screening Modernization Act sponsored by Reps. Graves (R-LA), Green (R-TN), Guest (R-MS), Smith (D-WA), Titus (D-NV), and Carbajal (D-CA). The nation’s supply chains have been severely impacted by COVID and other disruptions of late which is also continually slowed by bureaucratic red tape requiring our nation’s essential workers to undergo many different security clearances to do one job. For example, a driver operating a truck with hazardous materials from a port must receive credentials from multiple Federal agencies, including Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). This cumbersome process hinders America’s supply chain from operating at its full capacity.

"By combining each of the different steps along the credentialing process into one cohesive process, this legislation will help eliminate this logjam and get these drivers out on the road more quickly while, at the same time, maintaining the same levels of scrutiny," said EMA President Rob Underwood. In fact, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) had recommended these steps be taken in 2007 especially since all it does is smooth out an unnecessarily cumbersome credentialing process.

EMA is supportive of this bill because its passage will be a major boon for energy marketers who already face major hurdles in hiring qualified CDL drivers.