Legislators Preserve Language to Block Mexican Trucks in Spending Bill

Lawmakers preserved language in a transportation funding bill that would block a federal pilot program allowing Mexican trucking companies to operate inside the United States, news services reported Friday.

The provision was retained in a $105.6 billion transportation spending bill approved by a House-Senate conference committee on Thursday.

A congressional aide said the legislation could be voted on by the House as early as next week and later by the Senate, according to Copley News Service.

The DOT program, which began in September, would allow up to 100 U.S. trucking companies to operate in Mexico and up to 100 Mexican trucking companies to operate beyond a close-in commercial U.S. border zone.