DOT To Extend Mexican Truck Program for 2 Years
The Department of Transportation said Monday it plans to continue a program to allow Mexican trucks into the United States for two years — just days after a House Committee passed a measure to end the program next month.
John Hill, head of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, said the program would be extended “as permitted under U.S. law” and that the move was precipitated by companies’ hesitation to invest in the program because of the uncertainty on how long it would last.
“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,” Hill said.
“The extension will ensure that the demonstration project can be reviewed and evaluated on the basis of a more comprehensive body of data,” he said in a statement.
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, meanwhile, passed a measure last Thursday that would quash the program by Sept. 6.
The program began last September, and since then has drawn bipartisan scrutiny in Congress over safety and environmental issues.
In addition to shutting down the pilot program after that date, the bill would prohibit DOT from granting Mexican trucking companies the authority to operate in the U.S., unless the agency first obtains Congressional authorization to do so.
