Thursday, during an appearance on Mobile, AL radio’s FM Talk 106.5, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) introduced the Understanding Basic English Requirements (UBER) Act, which, according to his Senate office, would require drivers participating in rideshare applications, like Uber and Lyft, that receive government contracts to be proficient in English.
The proposal would “strengthen the safety of rideshare users by requiring drivers to be able to read and speak English,” and align the hiring standards with federal Commercial Driver’s License requirements.
Those found in violation could “be debarred from receiving federal contracts for five years.”
“You know, I hate new laws,” he said. “I really do. You know, as the American people, we’ve got enough laws in this country over the last 250 years. But again, when we’ve let all these people come across our border unaccounted for, don’t know English and it is putting Americans in harm’s way. Look at the CDL drivers, where, hey, you’ve got to be able to speak English to drive one of these big, big, massive trucks because people are getting slaughtered on the highways. It’s not their fault. It’s the truck driver’s fault. They can’t read signs or whatever. But I’ve heard from a lot of people, and the worst part of their day is getting in an Uber or a Lyft. It’s the scary part, they say.”
“We’re not asking much,” Tuberville added. “We want people when they get in a car that they communicate, and they also know that that person in the front seat driving the car can read a stop sign. These platforms — they have been hiring illegal aliens like crazy just to get their numbers up. They’re all about getting their numbers, more rides. It gets their stock up. So, America should be working for American companies. These illegals don’t need to be driving cars. This bill is just common sense, and I look forward to working with my group of people in the Senate, and hopefully get a few Democrat votes. But they’re not playing ball right now with us. So, it is going to be hard to get this through.”
Last month, Tuberville introduced the Secure Commercial Licensing Act, which would require all CDL testing to be conducted only in English, following recent accidents involving commercial truck drivers who are not proficient in English.
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