Congress ties federal highway funding to immigration enforcement via CDL restrictions.
S. 3917 — The Dalilah Law · Filed by Jim Banks (R-IN) · 8 cosponsors · Introduced Feb 25, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill prohibits states from issuing commercial driver's licenses (CDLs) to anyone who is not a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or holder of specific work visas (E-2, H-2A, or H-2B). States must recertify all existing CDL holders within 180 days and revoke licenses from those who fail to meet the new criteria or cannot demonstrate English proficiency. The federal government will withhold all federal transportation funding from states that fail to comply with recertification, revocation, or verification requirements.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is not transportation safety or licensing standards—it is immigration status verification tied to commercial driver's licenses, enforced through federal funding withholding. The stated purpose (CDL issuance) is the vehicle; the actual policy goal is restricting non-citizen employment in commercial trucking.
What the text implies
- The 180-day recertification deadline for ALL existing CDL holders creates a massive administrative burden on state DMVs and may result in license revocations for citizens/LPRs unable to complete recertification in time, effectively punishing compliant drivers.
- Federal funding withholding is triggered by ANY issuance of a CDL to an ineligible person after enactment—a single administrative error by a state DMV could trigger loss of all federal transportation funding, creating perverse incentives for over-enforcement.
- The bill requires English proficiency verification on all covered examinations and existing licenses, potentially affecting naturalized citizens and LPRs whose English proficiency may not meet the undefined standard in 49 CFR §391.11(b)(2).
- Non-domiciled CDL holders (truckers licensed in one state but domiciled elsewhere) face recertification requirements that may conflict with interstate commerce and existing reciprocal licensing agreements.
- The bill does not define 'proficient in the English language' with precision, leaving states to interpret a vague standard and creating litigation risk and inconsistent enforcement across jurisdictions.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Non-citizen workers (including undocumented immigrants and those on ineligible visas) lose access to commercial driving licenses, eliminating a major employment pathway and restricting economic mobility. States face severe federal funding penalties that may reduce transportation infrastructure investment and public services. The 180-day recertification deadline creates administrative chaos and potential due-process concerns for existing license holders.
Named in the bill
U.S. Department of Transportation (Secretary), State DMVs, Commercial motor vehicle operators, Nonimmigrant visa holders (E-2, H-2A, H-2B), 49 USC §31301, §31310, §31311, Immigration and Nationality Act §101(a)(15), 8 CFR §217.5
Where it stands
8 cosponsors: 8 Republicans.
- Feb 25, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Feb 25, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
4 lobbying clients named this bill on 4 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $1,259,143 in lobbying spend. A filing names 36 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 72% of bills with at least one filing.
Jim Banks, the sponsor, reported $553,626 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- American Trucking Associations — $720,000 on 1 filing
- International Brotherhood of Teamsters — $489,143 on 1 filing
- Supply Chain Federation — $40,000 on 1 filing
- Winning Strategies Washington (on Behalf of Supply Chain Federation) — $10,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (8,492 characters) on Sep 21, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 14,522 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-09-21.
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