Effort to slow cross-border trucking still intact

[Staff]

An amendment calling for the Bush Administration to have its ducks in a row before opening the border to 100 Mexican motor carriers is alive and well – for the time being. Section 4001 of the U.S. Senate’s supplemental appropriations bill, approved in early April, was accepted by the House-Senate Conference Committee and remains in the full appropriations bill.

Committee members approved the conference report on the appropriations bill Tuesday, March 24, with all 28 Democrats signing and all 24 Republicans withholding their signatures.

Senate adoption is expected Thursday, March 26. According to press reports, Democrats in the House of Representatives were counting votes hoping to guarantee acceptance of the committee report so the bill can be sent to the president.

Section 4001 would restrict spending any money on allowing Mexican motor carriers to operate beyond the border zone until three conditions are met. Those conditions are:

• Granting such authority must first be tested as part of a pilot program;
• The pilot program must comply with the requirements of Section 350 of the 2002 appropriations legislation and the requirements of Section 31315(c) of Title 49, United States Code, related to the pilot programs; and
• Simultaneous and comparable authority to operate within Mexico is made available to motor carriers domiciled in the United States.

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