ATA Urges Single Background, Credential Checks for TWIC Program

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he Transport Workers Identification Credential program should require a single background check and a single credential check, said a trucking official addressing Congress on behalf of American Trucking Associations.

Philip Byrd, president of Bulldog Hiway Express, told the House Committee on Small Business that the TWIC program should be modified to remove unnecessary burdens on trucking companies and to ensure intended security benefits, ATA said in a statement.

“The trucking industry understands that securing the nation’s supply chain involves costs,” Byrd said. “Motor carriers like mine are more likely willing to bear the cost of one, but not multiple background checks and security credentials.”

In recent years, the Transport Security Administration, which oversees the TWIC program, has implemented different background check processes for truck drivers seeking to obtain hazmat endorsements or unescorted access to secure areas of U.S. ports.

Trucking groups say the increasing number security regulations and required credentials places an undue burden on truckers, who must submit to multiple background checks and pay steep of user fees to achieve complete compliance.