Thread: Provision cutting cross-border trucking is kept

Provision cutting cross-border trucking is kept

Program's opponents hail committee action

By Paul M. Krawzak
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE

November 9, 2007

WASHINGTON - A congressional committee preserved a legislative provision yesterday that would cut off funding for a federal pilot project allowing long-haul trucking across the U.S.-Mexico border.

The provision was retained in a $105.6 billion transportation spending bill approved by a House-Senate conference committee. That bill includes $50.9 billion in discretionary spending.

Opponents of the cross-border trucking program, who hailed the committee's action, see the provision as their best hope to end the two-month-old experiment. They contend that the program lacks sufficient safeguards to ensure that Mexican trucks meet the same standards as American trucks, a charge that U.S. transportation officials deny.

Rod Nofziger, director of government affairs for the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, said the group was confident that Congress would pass a transportation bill that would shut down the program.

The Teamsters union, another opponent of the program, also expressed satisfaction with the committee's action.

U.S. transportation officials were disappointed with the bill.

“It's sad news for U.S. truck drivers and U.S. consumers,â€

This is great news--let's shut this cross-border trucking down!

I guess that I just don't understand how this allowance of foreign trucks into our country is beneficial to "economies and consumers." Not only are American truck companies going to loose business and thus jobs for truckers, but why do we have to fund foreign truckers crossing our borders to do a job that Americans are willing and are doing to support themselves and their families. Please, someone help me understand this; as, there must be a logical reason that I'm just not seeing.