Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) included language in the Fiscal Year 2011 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations bill that requires the Obama Administration to put forward a plan that will allow Mexican truckers to have full access to U.S. highways. The bill passed the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development subcommittee, which Murray chairs, as well as the full Appropriations committee, and will now head to the full Senate for consideration.

From the bill’s report language:

“It is essential for the administration to establish a plan to resume cross-border trucking with Mexico in a way that addresses the safety concerns raised during the Department of Transportation’s earlier pilot and end the retaliatory tariffs imposed by the Mexican Government. The tariffs were imposed on more than 90 U.S. products, a burden that undermines the competitiveness of many agricultural products produced in the United States. If the administration is unable to find a path forward with Mexico on this issue, these tariffs will continue to send American jobs to other countries, such as Canada, as growers, processors, and packers are forced to relocate. Such relocation threatens the livelihood of many American workers and further exacerbates the economic recession in communities across the Nation. Continued delays in rectifying this trade issue are unacceptable. The Committee directs the Secretary of Transportation, in coordination with the Ambassador of the United States Trade Representative, no later than October 1, 2010, to establish and report on a proposal to implement a cross-border trucking program that maintains the safety of our roads and highways, enhances the efficient movement of commerce, and eliminates harmful and retaliatory tariffs on agricultural products.â€