Currently, truckers seeking the credential are forced to make multiple trips to enrollment centers, many without truck parking and often hundreds of miles from drivers who do not live in metro centers.Also, according to the article, eliminating a duplicate hazardous materials background check for truckers that already have hazmat licenses will save applicants either $27.25 or $22.25. Of course, the costs to drivers aren't just measurable in dollars. In addition to the financial outlay, the TWIC process can be a hassle.
The SMART Port Security Act, HR4251, passed out of the committee late last week. The bill, if passed into law, would mandate a single trip to enrollment locations for TWIC applicants.
That would seem to validate my Friday post, Why is the TWIC So Expensive?, which assigned the lion's share of the cost of a TWIC card to the multiple layers of background checks and bureaucratic overhead, rather than biometrics.
