[Texgreen] Mexican trucks coming; unlimited access to U.S. roads for 100 companies

[margaret]

The North American Union and NAFTA superhighways are not far behind and=20=

drug smuggling just got easier!

- - -

Posted: February 23, 2007
2:41 p.m. Eastern

It's official: Mexican trucks coming
100 companies will have unlimited access to U.S. roads

By Jerome R. Corsi
  =A9=A02007=A0WorldNetDaily.com

One hundred Mexican trucking companies will have unlimited access to=20
U.S. roads to haul international cargo as part of a year-long pilot=20
program, the Department of Transportation announced today

In return, 100 U.S. trucking companies will be allowed to operate in=20
Mexico but at a later date.

Calling for congressional hearings, Teamsters General President Jimmy=20
Hoffa compared the announcement to the "Dubai Ports debacle," charging=20=

President Bush is "playing a game of Russian roulette on America's=20
highways."

As WND previously reported, the Teamsters Union has strongly protested=20=

the opening up of U.S. highways to Mexican trucks, citing safety=20
concerns.

A spokesman for Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., chairman of the Senate=20
Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban=20
Development and Related Agencies, told WND the senator plans to hold=20
hearings March 8 on the DOT pilot program.

A statement from Murray's office said she wants "to find out if the=20
administration has really met the safety requirements that the law and=20=

the American people demand before long-haul Mexican trucks can travel=20
across all our highways."

A spokeman from the office of Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., chairman of=20=

the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, told WND=20
hearings will most likely be held by Subcommittee on Highways and=20
Transit, chaired by Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore.

Both Oberstar and DeFazio are traveling today and a spokesman from=20
Oberstar's office said the lawmakers have not had a chance yet to=20
confer, so no hearings have yet been scheduled.

Oberstar and DeFazio have posted statements on the homepage of the=20
House Transportation and Infrastructure raising questions about DOT's=20
proposed Mexican truck pilot program.

Todd Spencer, spokesman for the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers=20
Association, told WND that "to reach a conclusion that the safety=20
regime in Mexico is compatible in any way, shape, or form with what we=20=

have here in the U.S. is ignoring reality. Mexico has never had=20
hours-in-service regulations or drug testing of drivers. We still can't=20=

verify the accuracy of somebody's Commercial Driver=92s License in =
Mexico=20
for safety or compliance."

Spencer stressed the decision is not just a border decision.

"Once Mexican trucks are in the United States on this pilot program,=20
they can operate everywhere in the U.S.," Spencer told WND. "If some=20
state highway policeman in Vermont or Iowa stops a Mexican commercial=20
truck in their state, they have absolutely no idea of deciding if that=20=

vehicle is in compliance with federal safety requirements. Who's going=20=

to provide the training or the equipment for state police to verify the=20=

legality of a commercial truck from Mexico, in terms of its cargo, its=20=

haul, its log book, or even the driver? Local police aren't going to=20
have a clue."

Hoffa cited Mexico's inability to satisfy the DOT Inspector General's=20
requirements for safety that have been mandated to the Federal Motor=20
Carrier Safety Administration, or FMCSA.

WND previously reported applications of some 678 Mexican motor carriers=20=

seeking long-haul authority to operate about 4,000 vehicles was being=20
held up pending the completed DOT Inspector General's review of=20
proposed FMCSA rules regarding safety reviews for Mexican trucks=20
seeking to operate in the U.S., including rules for on-site safety=20
inspections in Mexico.

The DOT spokesman also affirmed to WND the FMCSA has now drafted=20
regulations that the DOT Inspector General has accepted, after an audit=20=

of the enforcement mechanisms and regulations the FMCSA created.

The Teamsters Union posed to WND a series of "unanswered questions,"=20
including:

	=95 Will the drivers be checked against the terror watch list, =
or will=20
our borders be open to anyone with a Mexican driver's license?

	=95 Will the drivers be required to carry a Mexican passport as =
U.S.=20
citizens are required to present their passports when entering the=20
country from Mexico?

	=95 Will all U.S. standards be applied to Mexican drivers, =
including the=20
requirement that U.S. drivers undergo regular physicals and meet=20
minimum age requirements?

	=95 Will Mexican truck drivers participating in the pilot =
program be=20
required to undergo drug and alcohol testing in U.S. labs? Who will=20
oversee the collection of random samples for drug and alcohol testing=20
of the Mexican drivers while they are in the U.S.?

	=95 Will U.S. wage and hour laws be enforced for Mexican drivers =
during=20
the pilot program? How will DOT enforce hours of service rules and=20
prevent false log books and fatigued drivers from entering the U.S.?

	=95 How can DOT assure the U.S. public that all trucks will be =
inspected=20
by U.S. officials in Mexico and at the U.S. border when fewer that 10=20
percent of all Mexican trucks entering the commercial zone are=20
inspected today?

According to a DOT spokesman, the pilot program "is predicated on the=20
notion that Mexican trucks operating in the U.S. under the pilot=20
program will operate pursuant to every single requirement that pertains=20=

to U.S. trucks operating in the United States, including both safety=20
and security requirements on both the state and federal level."

DOT has increased its inspection staff by some 270 inspectors to=20
implement the program. Still, DOT plans to continue the on-site=20
inspection activities in Mexico that were announced by DOT Secretary=20
Mary Peters earlier this week in Monterrey, Mexico.

The DOT spokesman confirmed there is no limit to the number of trucks=20
the 100 Mexican trucking companies can operate in the United States.=20
There is no restriction on the roads within the United States that the=20=

Mexican trucks can travel once they are admitted in the pilot program=20
at the border.

The Mexican trucks, however, will be limited to carrying international=20=

cargo, in that they will be prohibited from stopping at one point in=20
the U.S. destined for another point within the country.

On their return home, Mexican trucks, however, will be allowed to pick=20=

up in U.S. cargo originating in the U.S. destined for delivery back to=20=

Mexico.

While in the U.S., the Mexican drivers will operate under U.S. rules=20
and regulations, including those controlling hours of time allowed at=20
the wheel without a break.

The DOT spokesman specified that under agreements with Mexico already=20
in effect, Mexican and U.S. commercial driver's licenses will be=20
consider equivalent during the pilot program.

Mexican trucks operating in the United States will be required to have=20=

U.S. insurance coverage for all liabilities, including traffic=20
accidents.

"The intent is for the Mexican trucking operations in the U.S. to be=20
indistinguishable from U.S. trucking operations," the DOT spokesperson=20=

affirmed, "except that the driver and the truck began their trip in=20
Mexico."=