This week is National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, and I want the men and women behind the wheel to know how much we count on them and appreciate them. 

Every stocked shelf, every package, and every load of equipment headed to a job site got there the same way: driven and delivered by a truck. 

Truckers keep America moving and our economy running: 

• 453,060 trucking industry jobs in Florida—1 in every 18 jobs in the state

• 125,950 trucking companies in Florida, most of them small, locally owned businesses

• 84.9 percent of Florida communities depend exclusively on trucks to move their goods

Nationwide, 3.6 million truckers drive more than 330 billion miles a year and haul 70 percent of America's freight. That's long hours, nights away from family, and a level of responsibility most people never think about while passing a semi on I-95.

Trucking is also one of the best good-paying careers in America: under President Trump, average earnings for truckers have climbed to $70,000 a year, and the demand for drivers isn’t slowing down anytime soon.

That's why I introduced the Freedom Haulers Act last month, to get some of our nation’s very best access to these good paying jobs. Veterans who drove heavy trucks for the military shouldn't have to repeat tests for skills they've already proven, and my bill clears that red tape so more of them can get behind the wheel. Our roads need more qualified, vetted drivers—not fewer.