Trucking news: House votes to terminate US-Mexico cross-border trucking pilot program

WASHINGTON¡ªWeeks after the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced that that the highly-controversial cross-border trucking pilot program between the United States and Mexico would be extended for two years, it appears that the program may be permanently hitting the brakes.

Yesterday, the House of Representatives voted by a 395-18 margin to terminate the cross-border trucking pilot program immediately. The program had been up and running since September 6, 2007. But it has been facing myriad difficulties and obstacles long before that.

Some of these difficulties include:

• Congress moving to prevent the Bush administration from allowing Mexican trucks to travel through the US;

• A July 2007 House amendment that intended to remove funding for the pilot program, and would have barred Mexican trucks from traveling beyond U.S. border areas for a year; and

• an April 2007 lawsuit filed in California federal court, by the Teamsters Union, Public Citizen, the Sierra Club, the Environmental Law Foundation, and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) calling for the cross-border trucking pilot program to be terminated before it even started.

The July 2007 House amendment also stated that the program could not begin in the next fiscal year until October 1, 2007. The program was originally scheduled to kick off in April 2007, with 100 carefully-screened Mexican trucking companies allowed into the U.S. for international deliveries and to operate beyond the 20-to-25 mile commercial zones along the U.S. Southwest border. And then later in 2007, U.S.-based carriers would have been allowed into Mexico under the same restrictions.

The cross-border trucking pilot program on the surface fell under the guidelines of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), calling for trucks from the United States and Mexico to have access to the roads in each other¡¯s country, according to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. But the Committee said in a statement that continuing concerns over safety, licensing, and law enforcement have prompted Congress to limit access and forestall past attempts to fully open the border.

¡°When DOT began the program one year ago they assured us they would fully evaluate the pilot before opening the boarder to Mexican trucks,¡± said Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, in a statement.  ¡°Unfortunately, the Bush Administration has clearly ignored the will of Congress and plans to continue the program for two more years.  I am not surprised, but, I am outraged.  I am outraged that the Bush Administration would jeopardize the safety of Americans for political purposes.¡±

DaFazio added that the ¡°DOT needs to look at how much this pilot has cost and the impact it has had on overall motor carrier safety, especially in light of the fact that Mexico has lenient hours of service regulations and licensing procedures, and a virtually non-existent drug testing program for drivers.¡±