Bush Threatens to Veto Bill Delaying Border Opening

Congress and the Bush administration clashed last week over a proposal to allow Mexican trucks into the United States in a year-long pilot project, with the Senate passing a series of restrictions to the plan and a pair of bills being introduced in the House aimed at stopping it.

The Senate passed an Iraq war spending bill March 29 that includes provisions aimed at delaying the opening of the U.S. border to Mexican trucks, despite the threat of a veto from the White House. Later that day, Reps. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) and Nancy Boyda (D-Kan.) introduced separate measures addressing the issue.

“The Senate has blocked an effort by the administration to give Mexican truckers access to all U.S. highways until the Mexican government offers U.S. trucking companies the same access,” the amendment’s sponsor, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), said in a statement after the appropriations vote.

“It’s important that we ensure that the hard-working men and women of the trucking industry are afforded the same rights and privileges we would offer to our trading partners in Mexico,” Feinstein said.

Meanwhile, John Hill, administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, said the United States could face about $2 billion in fines if it does not allow Mexican trucks access, and a Mexican trucking industry association called for suspending the pilot program.

In a March 27 letter, the White House said President Bush strongly opposed and would veto the appropriations bill because it would increase spending unrelated to the wars in Iraq and Af-ghanistan and it addressed the conduct of the wars. Bush’s letter also opposed the Mexican truck amendment attached to the bill.

“The administration strongly objects to language intended to block the implementation of cross-border trucking provisions as required by NAFTA,” Bush wrote, adding that “failure to implement this international obligation would hurt American shippers, consumers and longhaul truckers.”

Under the one-year pilot proposed Feb. 23, up to 100 Mexican fleets could be granted access to U.S. highways after a series of on-site inspections, but U.S. carriers would not be granted access for another six months (3-5, p. 1).

Despite concerns from Congress, the Department of Transportation said last week it was “committed to moving forward with this program.”

While the Senate funding bill must be reconciled with a House version that does not include the Mexican truck language, Rep. Boyda’s bill is nearly identical to the Senate language, with both bills preventing Mexican trucks from coming into the United States until American carriers are granted equal access to Mexico and requiring the plan to conform to federal administrative procedures.

Boyda said her bill would “ensure that the DOT fully re-spects America’s laws and our safety. This administration’s mad rush toward unrestricted trade should never endanger America’s citizens or their jobs. It just shouldn’t.”

Boyda’s bill was co-sponsored by Reps. Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.) and Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), the chairmen of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and that panel’s highway subcommittee, respectively.

“Several unanswered questions remain about whether the necessary systems are in place today to hold Mexico-domiciled carriers to the same strict federal standards that govern U.S. commercial truck operations,” Oberstar said.

Separately, Rep. Hunter introduced his “NAFTA Trucking Safety Act.”
Hunter’s bill requires DOT to publish a full list of the motor carrier regulations and how they will be enforced on Mexican drivers, and would require full background checks for Mexican drivers entering the U.S.

“There are considerable safety and security risks involved with providing Mexican truckers complete and unrestricted access to American roadways,” Hunter said. “It is important that these issues are thoroughly addressed before Mexican motor carriers are permitted to freely operate beyond established commercial zones along the southern land border.”

Hunter’s bill would also require the DOT inspector general to verify that all 22 conditions previously set by Congress to open the border have been met, that DOT give Congress “a plan to enforce English language proficiency,” and grant law enforcement personnel access to Mexican driver and vehicle information databases.

Responding to questions by a House subcommittee March 29, FMCSA’s Hill said the U.S. could face an estimated penalty of $2 billion in NAFTA penalties if it did not open the border to Mexican trucks.

Dissatisfaction with the program was not limited to U.S. officials. Last week, Mexico’s main trucking industry association, the Cámara Nacional del Autotransporte de Carga — less formally known as “Canacar” — called on the two countries to suspend the proposed pilot program because it was discriminatory.

In a March 27 statement, Canacar said the United States had spent millions “to develop an infrastructure for the sole purpose of inspecting Mexican truckers, and it is also prepared to hire 600 inspectors who will minutely search our citizens entering its territory.”

Mexican authorities have not invested enough to examine American truckers as rigorously, the association said.

This story appears in the March 26 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today.