House Transportation Committee advances 'Delilah's Law,' 35-26 to report bill

The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure advanced HR 5688, known as "Delilah's Law," by a 35-26 recorded vote, approving an amendment in the nature of a substitute that would tighten English-language proficiency requirements and limit nondomiciled commercial driver's licenses (CDLs).

Chairman Graves opened the markup and recognized Representative Rausser, chair of the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, who said the amendment would make permanent recent enforcement actions and close what he described as "CDL mills" that issue fraudulent licenses. "The open border policies of the Biden administration flooded our country with far more illegal immigrants than at any time in our country's history," Rausser said, framing the measure as a public-safety response to crashes that left children and families injured.

Ranking Member Larson acknowledged the Colemans' tragedy but argued the bill as written was overbroad and would bar people lawfully present in the United States from holding CDLs. "If this legislation is enacted, estimates are up to 200,000 drivers who took the same credentialing and safety tests as U.S. citizens ... will have their CDLs forcibly revoked and lose their job," Larson said, adding that the administration has not shown the provision's safety benefits at scale.

Democratic members, including Representatives Carbajal and Garcia, pressed concerns that the bill imposes a blanket English-only mandate for written CDL exams, risks removing experienced drivers from the workforce, and lacks due-process protections for drivers flagged at roadside. "This bill doesn't raise any standards. It's an anti-worker bill that raises barriers," Garcia said during argument for an amendment that would require notice and an opportunity to contest a one-year disqualification.

Republican members emphasized enforcement and state noncompliance. Representative Perry cited Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) audits and state-level license issuance errors; Representative Taylor described the bill as codifying an administration enforcement standard he said had removed thousands of drivers from the road for failing English-language-proficiency (ELP) checks.

On amendments, the committee adopted a naming amendment by Representative Taylor to designate the English-proficiency section as "Connor's Law" by voice vote. Two recorded amendments that had been postponed were later taken up and failed: amendment 58 (Garcia, on behalf of Rep. Johnson) failed, 24-35; amendment 20 (Larson) failed, 27-34. After agreeing to the amendment in the nature of a substitute as amended, the committee voted to favorably report HR 5688 to the House by a 35-26 recorded vote. The clerk announced the final tally and the measure was ordered favorably reported.

Chairman Graves asked unanimous consent to allow staff to make technical and conforming changes to reflect the committee's actions and to permit the chairman, after consultation with the ranking member, to offer motions in the House as necessary; those requests were granted without objection. The committee adjourned following completion of its business.

The transcript does not specify the date of the markup. The committee record shows the amendment in the nature of a substitute was accepted as the base text for purposes of further amendment, and the final committee action was to report HR 5688, as amended, to the House.