WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) introduced the Understanding Basic English Requirements (UBER) Act, which would require drivers participating in rideshare applications that receive government contracts to be proficient in English. His bill would strengthen the safety of rideshare users by requiring drivers to be able to read and speak English, aligning their hiring standards with all federal Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) requirements. The UBER Act would ensure that noncompliant platforms would be debarred from receiving federal contracts for five years.
“America is an English-speaking country,” said Sen. Tuberville. “If you want to live and work in the United States, you need to be able to speak and read our language. 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. I’m proud to introduce this legislation as another guardrail to keep Americans safe on the road.”
Read full text of the bill here.
BACKGROUND:
Specifically, the UBER Act would:
- Prohibit government agencies from awarding a contract or agreement to rideshare platforms with drivers who cannot read or speak English sufficiently.
- Ensure compliant platforms’ 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.
- Ban noncompliant companies from receiving federal contracts for a five-year period.
- Require that rideshare platforms and their drivers comply with the same federal standards as CDL drivers.
Sen. Tuberville has been aggressively working to make transportation safer for Americans. Last month, he introduced the Secure Commercial Licensing Act which would require all CDL testing to only be conducted in English, following recent accidents involving commercial truck drivers who are not English proficient.
Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, HELP and Aging Committees.
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