Today, Rep. Pete Aguilar passed his second bill through the House of Representatives in six days. The Active Duty Voluntary Acquisition of Necessary Credentials for Employment (ADVANCE) Act passed by a vote of 409 to 0. The bipartisan bill provides active-duty service members, reservists and National Guardsmen access to the same unique testing standards for commercial driver’s licenses granted to veterans by the latest surface transportation bill, the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act.

“I introduced the ADVANCE Act to ensure that active-duty service members and reservists have access to the same benefits as veterans, helping to smooth the transition from military to civilian life. We owe it to our brave men and women to help them find work here at home. This bipartisan bill is a commonsense measure that will create opportunities for service members to find work in their communities by simplifying how they translate the driving skills they learned in the military to American jobs across the nation,” said Rep. Aguilar.

The FAST Act allows veterans with qualifying military experience to be exempt from state knowledge tests when obtaining commercial driver’s licenses. The ADVANCE Act extends this exemption to active-duty service members, reservists and National Guardsmen. The ADVANCE Act has been endorsed by the American Trucking Associations (ATA), the Association of the United States Navy (AUSN) and The Retired Enlisted Association (TREA). Last week, Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) introduced a companion bill in the United States Senate.

Rep. Aguilar’s floor remarks were streamed on Facebook Live and can be viewed in full here.