Congress vs. Mary Peters on Mexican Trucks
By Michael Howe for PolitiTruck
The Department of Transportation has decided to continue the Mexican Truck Pilot Program despite the passage of the Omnibus Appropriations Bill that included language to end the program.
In a letter dated January 3, 2007, written to DOT Secretary Mary Peters, Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) expressed concern that DOT planned to continue the program.
“The DOT response is both arrogant and wrong! The provisions included in the omnibus spending bill was clearly written and designed to put the brakes on the current pilot program,” reads the letter.
“Failure to end the pilot program, I believe, will put the Department of Transportation in direct violation of federal law,” said Dorgan in the letter.
This comes after the FMCSA released a statement after Christmas explaining that the program would continue despite the language in the omnibus bill.
“In accordance with the 2008 omnibus appropriations act, the U.S. Department of Transportation will not establish any new demonstration programs with Mexico. The current cross-border trucking demonstration project – established in September – will continue to operate in a manner that puts safety first, with participating Mexican carriers subject to all safety standards required by the 2008 omnibus bill, while giving U.S. trucking companies new opportunities and U.S. consumers significant savings,” the FMCSA statement said.
Multiple attempts for clarification to this statement were made, but FMCSA spokesperson Melissa Delaney did not respond.
Reaction by a leading Republican, and Presidential candidate, in the House was equally strong.
“The omnibus clearly prohibits federal funds from being applied to the program. The Administration is subjectively interpreting the language in a manner that allows the program to continue,” Joe Kasper, Communications Director for Congressman Duncan Hunter told Howe.
The language in the bill, which has been signed into law by the President, reads, “None of the funds made available under this Act may be used to establish a cross-border motor carrier demonstration program to allow Mexico-domiciled motor carriers to operate beyond the commercial zones along the international border between the United States and Mexico.”
According to Senator Dorgan’s letter, the Senate Legislative Counsel noted that, “the legislative history in the Senate indicates that it was intended to preclude the carrying out of any demonstration program, including the pilot program put into effect in September 2007.”
The US DOT has interpreted the language to mean that it cannot begin a new program however, and the current program is allowed to continue.
“Regardless of this interpretation, the intent of Congress is abundantly clear and without funds, it will be difficult to successfully continue the program over the next fiscal year,” Kasper told Howe.
Dorgan’s letter urges the immediate end to the pilot program. “The Department of Transportation is required to abide by the laws enacted by Congress. The Department will be making a serious mistake if it believes it is not required to abide by this new legislation.”
Congressman Hunter’s Office believes this program, and the Administration’s insistence on continuing it, is a indicative of a much bigger challenge.
“The program is indicative of the prevailing open borders mentality that the American people so passionately oppose. Americans want our borders secured. Instead, we are seeing our borders become increasingly more dangerous and threatening to American sovereignty and security,” Kasper told Howe.
“It is naive to think that opening our Southern border to unrestricted vehicle traffic won’t make enforcement more difficult than it already is.,” said Kasper.
For Senator Dorgan, the issue is safety. “I offered my amendment to stop the pilot program because I think there are real safety concerns that need to be addressed before Mexico-domiciled motor carriers are allowed to roam freely in the United States,” wrote Dorgan.
Regardless of safety and security concerns, the program continues. At the time of this writing, the FMCSA website (www.fmcsa.dot.gov) lists 11 Mexican carriers (56 total trucks) and 4 US carriers (41 total trucks) involved in the program.
The web site also indicates that the “FMCSA has notified an additional 37 Mexico-domiciled motor carriers that they have successfully passed a Pre-Authorization Safety Audit.”
Senator Dorgan concluded the letter by asking for a response from Secretary Peters.
Secretary Peters’ office was contacted for comment but calls were not returned at the time of this writing.
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