Press Release

September 28, 2017
Cardin, Van Hollen Announce $63,415 Grant for Veterans’ Training at Wor-Wic Community College

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen (both D-Md.) have announced a $63,415 grant for veterans to receive training at Wor-Wic Community College for their Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) program. This funding from the Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will allow the College to recruit and train 20 veterans to obtain their Class A and Class B licenses. 

Approximately 10 percent of the local population are veterans but the unemployment rates for veterans are disproportionately higher. The College has an on-campus Veterans Coordinator as well as a Wor-Wic Veterans Military Association. The College will partner with State and local organizations and the Lower Shore Veterans Network to recruit qualified students, and potential employers will be invited to present employment opportunities on-campus.

“We have a responsibility to ensure our veterans have every resource they need to re-acclimate to civilian life and succeed on the home front professionally. This grant helps keep that commitment,” said Senator Cardin, Ranking Member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “I’m proud of Maryland’s veterans, and prouder still to be a federal partner for them and their families.”

“Veterans and their families sacrifice so much for our nation, and we must make sure they have every opportunity to succeed when they come home and enter the workforce,” said Senator Van Hollen, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “This grant will help veterans on Maryland’s Eastern Shore obtain their Commercial Driver’s License and find jobs to support themselves and their families. With federal support and the great work of Wor-Wic Community College, we won’t stop fighting for those who have given so much to our nation.”

This funding is provided through the Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) Operator Safety Training Grant Program, which was established by Congress in 2005 through the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users. The law works to expand the number of CDL holders possessing enhanced operator safety training to help reduce the severity and number of crashes on U.S. roads involving commercial motor vehicles. It also focuses on assisting current or former members of the United States Armed Forces (including National Guard members and Reservists) and their spouses to receive training to transition to the CMV operation industry.

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