WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Steve Daines (R-Mont.) along with Senators John Thune (R-S.D.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Pat Toomey (R-Penn.) are pushing back against President Biden’s vaccine mandate that will impact truckers and other essential travelers trying to cross the U.S.-Canada border. The senators stressed the impact of the vaccine mandate in further exacerbating the ongoing supply chain crisis and forcing American workers out of their jobs.

“Trucking is the largest mode of surface trade with Canada; every day, there are approximately 14,000 total truck entries along the U.S.-Canada border hauling more than $846 million of goods. Any disruptions to the continuity of U.S.-Canada trade would likely have far-reaching consequences that extend beyond our shared border,” the Senators write.

“…we fear that the imposition of vaccination mandates as a requirement to cross the land border will exacerbate the existing challenges facing our freight networks and supply chain, and could further fuel inflation and rising prices on top of what Americans are already seeing. Our nation’s truck drivers worked diligently during the pandemic to facilitate critical cross-border freight movements that helped to feed and clothe American communities. Now, implementing these policies could cost them their jobs,” the Senators continue.

Biden’s restrictions on essential travel across the Canadian border will begin on January 22. 

 Read the full letter HERE or below.

We write to share our concerns with the coming vaccine mandate for essential workers at the U.S.- Canada border, which will include truck drivers. Trucking is the largest mode of surface trade with Canada; every day, there are approximately 14,000 total truck entries along the U.S.-Canada border hauling more than $846 million of goods. Any disruptions to the continuity of U.S.-Canada trade would likely have far-reaching consequences that extend beyond our shared border.

In the coming weeks, both the U.S. and Canada intend to implement vaccination requirements on foreign truck drivers. Despite the good intentions underpinning this action, we fear that the imposition of vaccination mandates as a requirement to cross the land border will exacerbate the existing challenges facing our freight networks and supply chain, and could further fuel inflation and rising prices on top of what Americans are already seeing. Our nation’s truck drivers worked diligently during the pandemic to facilitate critical cross-border freight movements that helped to feed and clothe American communities. Now, implementing these policies could cost them their jobs.

While both countries intend to impose vaccine requirements on foreign truck drivers, neither country has imposed such a requirement on solo truck drivers who operate domestically. Since the onset of the pandemic, drivers have traversed the vast expanses of the U.S. and Canada safely, with a low COVID-19 transmission rate, due to the fact that commercial truck drivers spend the majority of their workday alone in the cab and outside.

In March of 2020, the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency classified truck drivers as essential to the continued viability of our nation’s infrastructure because trucking is an indispensable component of North American trade and the linchpin of America’s domestic supply chain. We urge your Administration to reengage our northern neighbor and leading export partner to establish a reciprocal policy for cross-border truck drivers that does not include a vaccine mandate and will not disrupt the North American supply chain.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. We look forward to working with you to reach solutions that protect our borders, our trucking workforce, and the supply chain.