| | |  Business News | August 2008 
Two-Year Extension Set for Mexican Truck Access Opposed by Congress
 CQ Today
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| | Allowing Mexican trucks to operate in the United States has drawn stiff opposition from Congress, which ordered the administration to stop funding the program in the fiscal 2008 omnibus spending law. | | |
The Bush administration announced Monday its plans to extend for two years an unpopular Mexican cross-border trucking project required by a trade treaty, setting up a bitter turf battle with Congress.
The program, which allows up to 100 Mexican trucking companies to operate in a 25-mile zone along the U.S. border, was originally billed as a one-year trial and was set to expire Sept. 6.
Before leaving for its August recess, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved a bill last week that would stop the Transportation Department from continuing with the pilot program.
“When Congress reconvenes in September, I intend to move our bill as quickly as possible, and make certain that the voice of Congress is heard loud and clear at the Department of Transportation, and that this program is finally shut down,” Committee Chairman James L. Oberstar , D-Minn., said in response to the administration’s move.
Allowing Mexican trucks to operate in the United States has drawn stiff opposition from Congress, which ordered the administration to stop funding the program in the fiscal 2008 omnibus spending law. Lawmakers have expressed concerns about safety and the environmental impact of the program.
But the administration has refused, citing the North American Free Trade Agreement — which created a framework for the United States and Mexico to further open their roadways to each other’s trucks — as well as a 2004 Supreme Court case allowing the administration to give Mexican truckers access to U.S. roads.
The administration has warned that if the program is blocked, Mexico could retaliate and impose fees and tariffs on U.S. goods.
According to the Transportation Department’s legal counsel, the amendment barring establishment of a cross-border demonstration project does not prevent the administration from proceeding with a program that already was under way.
Mexican Trucking Program to Be Extended for Two More Years
Paul M. Krawzak - San Diego Union Tribune
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Washington – A controversial one-year program allowing Mexican trucks to travel deep into the United States will be extended for two more years, federal officials announced Monday.
John H. Hill, administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, said the extension would allow for the collection of more data to determine whether Mexican trucks can operate safely in the United States.
Opponents quickly denounced the move, which some had been expecting despite their protests that the program poses a danger on U.S. highways.
Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, accused U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters of continuing to “flout the will” of Congress.
He said he would push for the passage of legislation to shut down the program when Congress returns in September. Last week, Oberstar's committee approved a bill to end the program on a unanimous bipartisan vote.
Hill said federal law allows a pilot program to last up to three years.
“We intend this extension to reassure trucking companies that they will have sufficient time to realize a return on their investment, and we anticipate additional participation with this extra time,” he said.
Although the program allows up to 100 carriers from each country to participate, only 26 Mexican carriers and 10 from the United States have joined the program, which was set to end next month.
Hill said there have been no accidents or safety incidents involving Mexican participants in the program.
Opponents, including the Teamsters Union, contend that Mexican drivers are not held to the same safety standards as U.S. drivers.
The Bush administration began the program last September as the first step in complying with a provision of the North American Free Trade Agreement that requires opening the border to long haul truck traffic.
Congress passed a law last year to end the program, but U.S. transportation officials interpreted it as only applying to future pilot programs.
Paul M. Krawzak: paul.krawzak(at)copleydc.com |
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