# 119-hr-5656: To amend title 49, United States Code, to grant the United States Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico eligibility to issue commercial driver's licenses, and for other purposes.

119-hr-5656, To amend title 49, United States Code, to grant the United States Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico eligibility to issue commercial driver's licenses, and for other purposes., is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Del. Plaskett, Stacey E. [D-VI-At Large] (D-VI); status in_committee; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-07-25).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5656
- As of: 2026-07-25
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-5656
- Congress: 119
- Title: To amend title 49, United States Code, to grant the United States Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico eligibility to issue commercial driver's licenses, and for other purposes.
- Status: in_committee
- Introduced: 2025-09-30
- Sponsor: Del. Plaskett, Stacey E. [D-VI-At Large] (D-VI)
- Cosponsors: 2
- Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-07-25

## Summary

**Integrate Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands into the federal commercial driver licensing and safety system.** The bill would add Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to the Title 49 definition of the United States, align penalty treatment for apportioned funds, require federal help to reach compliance, and provide a five-year transition before certain funding withholdings apply. - For Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands drivers and carriers: Would make those territories eligible to issue commercial driver's licenses and to join federal commercial motor vehicle safety programs. This brings local drivers and companies under federal CMV safety rules. - For territorial transportation agencies: Would require the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to work with Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to achieve full compliance with Chapter 313 and its regulations. They would get a five-year grace period before some Title 23 apportionment withholdings apply for noncompliance. - For penalties and federal treatment of funds: Would clarify that amounts apportioned to the U.S. Virgin Islands are considered required apportioned amounts for purposes of imposing penalties under Title 49, aligning penalty treatment with other jurisdictions.

## Cosponsors (2)

- Rescom. Hernández, Pablo Jose [D-PR-At Large] (D-PR), 2025-09-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Edwards, Chuck [R-NC-11] (R-NC), 2025-09-30T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Commercial driver rules for PR and USVI: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would add Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to the definition of "United States" for commercial driver safety rules. It would require the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to work with those territories to obtain full compliance with chapter 313 and its regulati…
- Penalty rules for Virgin Islands funds: cost, low. If enacted, the bill would treat amounts that are treated as apportioned to the U.S. Virgin Islands under section 165(c) of title 49 as if they were required apportionments for purposes of imposing any penalty under this title. That means those funds and entities receiving them would be subject to…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-hr-6900: American Affordability Act of 2025
- 119-hr-9237: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-3077: Agriculture Resilience Act of 2025
- 119-hr-4206: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hr-5656 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5656)

## Related
- [119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9877)
- [119-hr-6900: American Affordability Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6900)
- [119-hr-9237: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9237)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-3077: Agriculture Resilience Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3077)
- [119-hr-4206: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4206)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5656 (as of 2026-07-25).