(TTNews.com)
Despite congressional opposition, the Bush administration is fully committed to beginning within weeks a pilot test that will allow Mexican trucks to operate freely across the U.S.
A spokesman for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Ian Grossman, told WND the agency plans to grant the first authority for a Mexican trucking company to operate its long-haul rigs throughout the U.S. as early as the end of this month.
WND previously reported an amendment introduced by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., into the Fiscal Year 2007 Supplemental Appropriations Bill is designed to block the Department of Transportation's pilot test until thRep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., has introduced the NAFTA Trucking Safety Act, designed to block the test until current FMSCA regulations regarding Mexican trucks operating beyond commercial zones along the international border are clarified and strengthened.
The Mexican trucking company can begin operating trucks in the U.S. immediately, once the FMCSA grants the authority, Grossman told WND.
Grossman explained granting authority to the 100 Mexican trucking companies specified under the DOT pilot test may take between four to six months to complete.
"The department is committed to moving forward with this program," he said, "and will continue to work with members of Congress to address their concerns."
Reaction from the Teamsters Union was immediate and sharp.
"The Department of Transportation can't enforce truck safety in the United States, let alone at the southern border," spokeswoman Leslie Miller told WND. "The Bush administration continues to show a reckless disregard for the will of Congress and the American people who oppose this illegal pilot project."
Rod Nofzinger, spokesman for the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, was equally critical.
"Unfortunately, the administration is bound and determined to move forward with their Mexican trucking program despite the serious concerns that have been raised by the American public, Mexico-domiciled trucking companies and lawmakers on Capital Hill, both Republicans and Democrats alike," Nofzinger told WND.
"I have little doubt that they want to beat Congress to the finish line on this," Nofzinger continued. "They know that once the toothpaste is out of the tube, it's awfully hard to get it back in. Once Mexican trucks start rolling throughout the U.S., it will be very difficult for Congress and the American people to turn them back, regardless of the safety and security risks that they'll be carrying with them."
Hunter also was critical of the FMCSA decision to begin implementing the Mexican truck pilot test immediately.
The congressman's spokesman, Joe Kasper, told WND Hunter has significant concerns about the program.
"Congressman Hunter maintains that compliance and enforcement standards must be clarified and strengthened before the pilot program is implemented," Kasper said. "Congressman Hunter will utilize the program's impending implementation as an opportunity to promote and continue highlighting the importance of the NAFTA Trucking Safety Act."
Responding to the congressional concerns, Grossman said Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta had certified in 2002 that DOT met each of the 22 safety requirements Congress in the Fiscal Year 2002 DOT Appropriations Bill demanded be met before allowing trucks from Mexico to drive beyond U.S. commercial zones along the border.
Kasper disagreed, insisting Mineta's certification was not enough.
"We need public disclosure of the safety requirements and public debate, including a DOT filing in the Federal Register before we approve this test," Kasper told WND.
"While the NAFTA Trucking Safety Act restates the safety conditions included in the FY2002 appropriations measure," Kasper continued, "the legislation goes further by requiring the implementation of English proficiency standards and data base accessibility for law enforcement officials to verify a driver's identification and criminal history."
Hunter's NAFTA Trucking Safety Act has been referred to several House committees, including House Transportation and Infrastructure; Homeland Security; Judiciary; and Ways and Means.
According to Kasper, the NAFTA Trucking Safety Act has collected 18 co-sponsors.
Asked to comment on the Feinstein amendment or Hunter's NAFTA Trucking Safety Act, Grossman told WND the FMCSA "was engaging in no speculation on the course of possible congressional legislation" regarding the Mexican truck pilot test.
For a comprehensive look at the U.S. government's plan to integrate the U.S., Mexico and Canada into a North American super-state – guided by the powerful but secretive Council on Foreign Relations – read "ALIEN NATION: SECRETS OF THE INVASION," a special edition of WND's acclaimed monthly Whistleblower magazine.
Get Tom Tancredo's book, "In Mortal Danger," from the people who published it – WND Books.
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e Mexican government authorizes U.S. trucking companies to operate in Mexico.
Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2007 11:23 pm
mhlogistics
Joined: 30 May 2006
Posts: 196
Location: Phelan, CA 92371
The safety is a real concern. but what really makes me mad is Bush is going to allow them to come in here take our work. It's like they stuck a knife in our backs when they started NAFTA and now there just going to sit there and twist it. The time has come for American truckers to stand together and tell congress we aren't going to put up with it! We need someone that can unite truckers the way Jimmy Hoffa did it!
I Agree
Posted: Sat Apr 14, 2007 3:53 pm
admin
Site Admin
Joined: 27 May 2006
Posts: 516
Location: Cleburne, TX
I dont believe we (America) will ever get it back under any control once we opened it up.
WHERE IS HOFFA
House Delays Mexican-Trucks Plan
Posted: Wed May 16, 2007 11:06 pm
admin
Site Admin
Joined: 27 May 2006
Posts: 516
Location: Cleburne, TX
House Delays Mexican-Trucks Plan
Lopsided 411-3 Vote Cites Safety Concerns
The House voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to delay a Department of Transportation plan to allow Mexican trucks full access to U.S. highways, the Associated Press reported.
The 411-3 vote delays DOT’s pilot program and restricts opening the border to 100 Mexican carriers, who would be allowed to use a maximum of 1,000 vehicles, AP said. It also sets safety milestones for Mexican carriers to meet.
The trucks would have to be declared safe first, and Mexico would have to give U.S. truckers the same access south of the border, AP reported.
DOT wanted to start a pilot program this year that would run for a year before fully opening the border to Mexican trucks.
But the House measure specifies criteria for the pilot program before it can start, including setting up an independent panel to evaluate the program and getting certification from DOT’s inspector general that safety and inspection requirements have been met, AP reported.
Iit could be as late as 2008 before Congress's criteria are met, according to the Congressional Budget Office, AP said.
Lawmakers' major concern is whether Mexican trucks, often older than U.S. rigs, and their drivers will be able to meet rigorous U.S. safety standards, AP reported.
U.S. trucking companies have spent years getting their vehicles up to DOT standards, and letting Mexican trucks across the border without making them meet those standards is wrong, lawmakers said, AP reported.
Since 1982, Mexican trucks have only been allowed to operate in the United States within a buffer zone near the border. They then must transfer their loads to U.S. truckers.
The legislation would allow Mexican drivers to take their loads from Mexico to any point n the country, AP said.
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