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Teamsters: Inspector General Report on Mexican Trucks 'An Indictment'



Inspector General Questions DOT Inspections of Mexican Trucks, Drivers



WASHINGTON, March 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Teamsters General
President Jim Hoffa said today that the latest inspector general report on
the Bush administration's reckless pilot program allowing unsafe Mexican
trucks to travel freely in the United States provides even more ammunition
to keep the border closed because of safety concerns.



The report says the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)
hasn't implemented a quality control measure promised to Congress. "Without
this quality control measure, FMCSA does not have assurance that it has
checked every Mexican truck and driver that is participating in the project
when they cross the border into the United States," the report said.



"This is another indictment of the program to open the border," Hoffa
said. "They're not even pretending anymore that they'll inspect every
truck, every time it crosses the border. They're just saying they will
glance at a driver's license and a safety decal - and now the inspector
general reports there's no assurances that's even being done."



The report will be discussed Tuesday afternoon at a Senate Commerce
Committee hearing in which Transportation Secretary Mary Peters will be
questioned about her decision to ignore Congress's legal ban on funding the
program.



The report also validates one of the Teamsters Union's key legal
arguments that the program is illegal. It states that "no reliable
statistical projections regarding safety attributes can be made at this
point."



The Teamsters have argued in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that a
legal requirement of the program is that it include enough participants to
yield statistically valid findings.



The Teamsters are awaiting the court's decision.



"Do we need any more reasons to put the brakes on this program?" Hoffa
said. "Congress cut funding, and the Bush administration can't check all
trucks and drivers. What more do we need to stop this dangerous experiment
-- deaths on our highways? "



Hoffa also praised Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., for launching an
investigation into the Transportation Department's illegal spending of
taxpayers' funds on the pilot program. Also signing the request were Sen.
Arlen Specter, R-Pa., and Reps. Jim Oberstar, D-Minn., and Peter DeFazio,
D-Ore.



Peters ignored a law signed on Dec. 26 that cuts off funding for the
pilot program to open the border to trucks from Mexico.



"I've been saying for weeks that this woman ought to be fired for
breaking the law," Hoffa said. "I'm delighted that Sen. Dorgan is taking
steps to force her to obey the law and the U.S. Constitution."



Dorgan asked for an investigation into Peters' potential violation of
the Antideficiency Act. The law is used by Congress to enforce its
constitutional power of the purse. It forbids federal officials from
spending money that hasn't been appropriated by Congress.



Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents
1.4 million hardworking men and women in the United States, Canada and
Puerto Rico.








SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters

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