Mexico Trucker Online Articles

Where’s the outrage? OOIDA not concerned about our porous borders – At least one of them

Only .08% or 35 miles of our 4000 mile border with Canada is secure, which can allow unknown amounts of drugs, terrorists and who knows what else to cross undetected, but this is not of concern to opponents of cross border trucking with Mexico. Can't offend our white, English speaking friends to the north now can we?

Mark Reddig is on the radio exhorting his listeners that the Cross Border Pilot Program with Mexico will “destroy” the US trucking industry.

The August issue of OOIDA’s in house rag, LAND LINE is being pimped on the same program with emphasis on their headline story DOT’s DOG & PONY SHOW, an article where they showcase their “expertise” on the southern border from their ivory tower in Grain Valley Missouri, 1000 miles from the source of their concern.

OOIDA has long been using the illogical argument that Mexican trucks should be banned from the US because they “might” bring drugs, illegals, WMD’s and terrorists into this country. Hogwash! Yet they gloss over and largely ignore a recently released report from Canada’s Royal Canadian Mounted Police Intelligence Division showing that the problem is not restricted to the southern border exclusively.

From THETYEE.CA:

The trucking industry employs over 400,000 people in Canada, and the average fulltime driver earns $858 a week. The industry is dominated by small for-hire carriers and independent owner/operators whose main role is to haul freight for others.

These drivers are most vulnerable, because they are striving for economic viability due to the recession, more competition, and stricter new security and environmental rules. “This is an enriched opportunity for organized crime to offer financial incentives to supplement flagging incomes,” the report notes. The industry was also hit hard by skyrocketing gas prices last year.

The report also warns of a middleman broker who serves as the key link between criminal groups and truck drivers. This person is a specialist who recruits, pays, and sometimes terrorizes truckers into carrying illicit drugs, cash, and illegal migrants.

Money spent to transport illicit cargo is a small cost of doing business for criminal groups, but is a “significant incentive” for drivers. For example, a trucker can be paid $28,000 to move $12 million worth of cocaine from California to Montreal.

Besides cocaine and cash, the cargo can include illicit tobacco, marihuana, ephedrine, and Ecstasy, which are often packed in increasingly sophisticated compartments built into tractor trailers. Moving large amounts of cash may be the criminals’ peak of success, showing a high level of trust and elevated status. (Cocaine is the illicit product most often caught entering Canada at the border, while marijuana is the drug most often trucked within the country.)

Loads are often guaranteed, sometimes with money provided up front by the transporters. The trucker criminal “specialists” are held responsible for illicit cargo that has been lost, stolen or seized, often resulting in a nightmarish cost.

“For illicit cargo that is missing, the transporter is expected to provide compensation or risk harsh consequences, including extortion and violence,” the report says. “Violence associated to lost cargo includes beatings, kidnapping, and murder.

“Discipline is usually meted out from within the transportation group at the behest of the larger criminal organization or to deal with internal disputes. Loads stolen or seized from drivers provide leverage for further exploitation by crime groups, often resulting in an indentured arrangement in which the driver is drawn further into the criminal activity and required to move illicit commodities at no cost, to fulfill the debt.”

The ease by which trucking companies can be formed makes the industry especially attractive, which leads to a continued proliferation of “illicit trucking companies.” Criminal groups conceal their illicit activities through layers of company ownerships, name changes, transfers and disclosures.

They benefit from fragmented regulatory oversight, which is so complex that it is difficult for police to track at what point in the chain the criminal activity occurs. “Organized crime groups own and operate trucking companies in relative autonomy, without close government or industry scrutiny,” and all these factors give them a “considerable advantage” over the police.

Trucking crime occurs in every region. Three quarters of truck traffic that crosses the Canada-U.S. border pass through Ontario and Quebec, which have about 31,500 owner/operators. Most of the criminal groups the RCMP examined have companies based in Brampton and Mississauga.

Although British Columbia and Yukon (with 7,400 owner/operators) accounts for just 10 per cent of the cross-border truck traffic, B.C. is a major source for marijuana growing and export, and cocaine enters B.C. in multi-million dollar amounts.

More interdictions of commercial trucks means a short term inconvenience for criminals, forcing their shift to other modes, such as aircraft, boat, or the movement of more frequent and smaller loads. Doing so in private vehicles and rentals will increase the importance of warehousing.

Moreover, since smaller companies are finding cross-border trade less affordable (which some experts say might even challenge their ability to stay in business), criminal specialists may find ways to infiltrate and compromise larger trucking companies, in order to keep transporting their cargo abroad.

So again, where’s the outrage from OOIDA and other opponents of Cross Border Trucking? Where’s the demand to close the northern border to the drugs and who knows what else crossing the largely unsecured northern border?

In February, Sens. Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins, the two top senators on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee stated;

“The Department of Homeland Security has concluded that the risk of terrorist activity across our northern border is actually higher than across our southern border. The DHS could do a better job of border defense. The report also finds that less than 1 percent of the border is under operational control – less than 1 percent of our northern border.”

Sen. Joe Lieberman, Connecticut independent and committee chairman, said that the lack of a strong defense along the northern border is “absolutely alarming” and that it leaves the American public “grossly underprotected” from terrorist attacks, drug smugglers and other illegal activity.

Again, where’s the outrage and demands to close the northern border and send the Canadian trucks back to Canada?

The Canadian trucking industry moves more than 70 per cent of goods into Canada from the United States and employs 400,000 people. Almost three-quarters of the cross-border traffic passes through points in Ontario and Quebec, which have close to 31,500 owner-operators, according to the report. This is far more than the 1,065 “certificated” or “legacy” carriers from Mexico, grandfathered in after the 1982 foreign carrier exclusion order was signed and significantly more than the approximately 25,000 Mexican trucks with OP-2 authority that operate exclusively within our commercial zones on the southern border.

MOVING CONTRABAND ACROSS THE SOUTHERN BORDER

OOIDA and others claim that the majority of contraband smuggled across the southern border comes by truck. Simply not true, as any CBP or Border Patrol official will tell you.

You see trucks impounded at the interior BP checkpoints, all of them US trucks driven by US truckers. Indeed, the RCMP report states truckers contracted to run a load of cocaine from California to Montreal enjoy a payday of $28,000 or more. The criminal organizations don’t need threats to find truckers willing to take the risk for a payday like that. Nor do they have any problem finding truckers running off the southern border looking for a little easy money, without considering the risks involved.

A good example of this can be found by reading the Border Patrols weekly blotters.

U.S. Border Patrol Weekly Blotter (07/27/2011)

• San Diego Sector – Border Patrol agents seized 35.5 pounds of methamphetamine, a Chrysler sedan, and arrested a United States Citizen (USC) at the traffic checkpoint near Pine Valley, California.
• Marfa Sector – Border Patrol agents seized a small amount of marijuana, a Cadillac sedan, a .38 caliber pistol, a .22 caliber rifle, 580 rounds of ammunition, and arrested two USCs at the traffic checkpoint near Sierra Blanca, Texas. Records checks revealed the handgun was reported stolen.
• Rio Grande Valley Sector – Border Patrol agents seized 1,093 pounds of marijuana and a Chevrolet Suburban near Los Ebanos, Texas.
• Rio Grande Valley Sector – Border Patrol agents seized 3,762 pounds of marijuana, a tractor-trailer, and arrested a USC at the traffic checkpoint near Falfurrias, Texas. A Border Patrol canine alerted to the trailer and a subsequent search by agents uncovered the marijuana.
• Rio Grande Valley Sector – Border Patrol agents seized a cargo truck and arrested a USC and 12 illegal aliens from Mexico at the traffic checkpoint near Falfurrias, Texas. A Border Patrol canine alerted to the vehicle and a subsequent search by agents uncovered the illegal aliens.
• Laredo Sector – Border Patrol agents arrested two nationals of Mexico, seven illegal aliens and seized a tractor-trailer at the traffic checkpoint near Laredo, Texas. The nationals of Mexico presented themselves for inspection and a Border Patrol canine alerted to the vehicle. A subsequent search by agents uncovered the illegal aliens concealed within the tractor.
• Laredo Sector – Border Patrol agents seized 1,373 pounds of marijuana and a Ford truck near Laredo, Texas.
• Rio Grande Valley Sector – Border Patrol agents seized 11,803 pounds of marijuana, a tractor-trailer, and arrested a USC at the traffic checkpoint near Falfurrias, Texas.

Only one instance of a Mexican national smuggling illegals, and those two will serve their time and be deported permanently with their visas revoked for life.

A “USC” is a United States Citizen for purposes of clarification.

And if that wasn’t enough to convince you consider the incidents CBP was involved in on one weekend in the San Diego Sector.

• At about 3:15 a.m. on Friday, July 22, a 37-year-old male Mexican citizen driving a blue 1988 Mitsubishi pickup truck arrived at the San Ysidro port of entry. The CBP officer referred the vehicle and driver for a more intensive screening; CBP officers screened the vehicle with an imaging device, similar to an x-ray, and detected anomalies with the pickup. CBP officers examined the vehicle and found 64 packages of marijuana, weighing a total of about 106 pounds, hidden in the sides of the truck bed, in the tail gate, and in the vehicle quarter panels.
• At about 6:00 a.m. Friday, July 22, a 42-year-old male Mexican citizen drove a gray 1994 Ford Aerostar to the San Ysidro port of entry. The CBP officer referred the driver and vehicle for an intensive inspection. A CBP officer with a narcotic detector dog screened the vehicle, and the canine alerted. CBP officers found eight packages of marijuana, weighing a total of eight pounds, hidden on top of the spare tire, which was suspended in its normal location under the vehicle.
• At about 3 p.m. on Friday, July 22, a 28-year-old male U.S. citizen driving a 1996 Ford Explorer arrived at the San Ysidro port of entry. While the driver was waiting in the lanes of traffic to approach the inspection booth, a CBP officer with a narcotic detector dog screened the vehicle, and the canine alerted. CBP officers inspected the vehicle and found 19 packages of methamphetamine hidden under the floor of the vehicle, weighing about 27 pounds.
• At about 3:15 p.m. on Friday, July 22, a 19-year-old female U.S. citizen driving a 1994 Nissan Maxima arrived at the San Ysidro border crossing. While the driver was talking with the CBP officer during her inspection, a CBP officer with a narcotic detector dog screened the vehicle, and the canine alerted. Upon conducting a further inspection, CBP officers found eight packages of marijuana, weighing almost 13 pounds, hidden inside the vehicle’s dashboard.
• At about 5:30 p.m. on Friday, July 25, a 28-year-old female U.S. citizen driving a silver 2001 Mitsubishi Montero arrived at the San Ysidro port of entry. The CBP officer referred the vehicle and driver for a more intensive screening, and CBP officers screened the vehicle with an imaging device, similar to an x-ray, and detected anomalies in the spare tire. A CBP officer with a narcotic detector dog also screened the vehicle, and the canine alerted. CBP officer removed 17 packages of marijuana, weighing a total of almost 85 pounds, from the spare tire.
• At about 9:30 p.m. on Friday, July 22, a 22-year-old male U.S. citizen driving a silver 1999 Dodge Intrepid arrived at the San Ysidro port of entry. While the driver was waiting in the lanes of traffic to approach the inspection booth, a CBP officer with a narcotic detector dog screened the vehicle, and the canine alerted. CBP officers screened the vehicle with an imaging device, similar to an x-ray, and noticed anomalies behind the back seat of the vehicle. CBP officers removed the vehicle’s back seat and discovered a compartment with 14 packages of marijuana, weighing about 37 pounds total, hidden inside.
• At about 5 p.m. Sunday, July 24, a 44-year-old male U.S. citizen driving a 2004 Chevy Silverado arrived at the border crossing in downtown Calexico. The CBP officer noted that the driver appeared nervous, and when inspecting the vehicle, tapped the gas tank and found it to be suspicious. CBP officers examined the vehicle further, including screening the vehicle with a narcotic detector dog, which alerted to the vehicle. CBP officers discovered 69 vacuum-sealed packages of marijuana hidden in the gas tank, weighing a total of about 155 pounds.

OOIDA concedes defeat – Mexican trucks to roll in August or September

Safe, fully inspected Mexican trucks such as this one would be allowed access to US under the proposed Pilot Program with Mexico

In an interview with Mark Reddig on Land Line Now Friday, Laura O’Neil of OOIDA’s Washington office conceded there is not much left to do to prevent the Mexican Cross Border Pilot Program from beginning next month.

O’Neil, saying that OOIDA continues to look for any roadblock they can throw up to stop the program, conceded that with the August recess upon us, the debate over the debt ceiling increase and the fact that their is not much interest in Congress in stopping the program, that they are out of options. She did suggest that members approach their representatives in their home districts and whine and complain about EOBR’s and those “dirty old polluting” Mexican trucks, the latter that has been thoroughly debunked.

O’Neil did say however that when the trucks start to roll, that OOIDA will be watching very closely for anything they can use to try once again to hamper or sabotage the program as they have in the past. Their bogus claims about Trinity Industries, is the first example that comes to mind.

MEXICAN TRUCKS TO ROLL IN AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

Mexican trucks will begin shipping long-haul freight far into U.S. territory at the end of August or in early September the Mexican government said.

“We hope that by the end of August or early September the first company can enter with full rights,” Economy Secretary Bruno Ferrari told reporters in Washington after a three-day visit that ended Thursday and included meetings with U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk.

That first company, based in Monterrey, will be joined later by another 20 that had requested the right to transport cargo on U.S. roads before Washington barred access to Mexican trucks in 1995, Ferrari said, adding that those other firms could begin shipping freight deep inside the United States “before year’s end,”

Mexico expects other companies that are now submitting their paperwork for the program to be able to enter the United States within 18 months after the application date, as stipulated in the bilateral accord signed on July 6.

Ferrari said he was optimistic about the Cross Border Freight Truck Program deal and hailed the fact that the applications that Mexican trucking firms submitted two decades ago for access to U.S. roads remain valid.

“In the talks we stressed that we didn’t want a new program, but just to give effect to the previous one, which was not interrupted for reasons in Mexico but rather due to problems in this country (the United States),” the secretary said.

“I think there’ll be a lot of interest from Mexican companies,” the secretary said, noting that trucks transport roughly $275 billion worth of annual cargo shipments between the two countries, or 70 percent of the total.

Mexico’s Communications and Transportation Secretariat estimates that the new agreement will expedite the 4.5 million annual truck crossings, generating some $675 million in cost savings.

NEW PROGRAM IS A BIG NON ISSUE

“The new agreement will probably not open us any more to criminal enterprise than we are now,” said David McIntyre, a homeland security expert and vice president for academics at National Graduate School of Quality Management. “But we have a big problem with criminal enterprise right now.”

U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Texas Democrat who serves on the House Homeland Security Committee and whose district includes Laredo port of entry, said that when the Bush administration tried a pilot program for the cross-border trucks, only a few carriers participated.

“If anybody expects huge lines of Mexican trucks to come in across the border revving their engines, that’s not going to happen that way,” Cuellar said. “It’s expensive for a lot of those trucking companies … because they have to meet so many requirements on this side.”

James Clark, director of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Mexico Business Center, said security concerns are unfounded because U.S. and Mexican trucks get the same degree of scrutiny and inspection.

Clark rejected concerns that Mexican drivers won’t understand English, noting that language proficiency has long been required to drive a truck in the United States.
“Aeromexico pilots speak Spanish, too, but they land planes at LAX,” he said.

Efforts by OOIDA and their allies in Congress seem to be going nowhere, Rep. Peter DeFazio’s HR-2407, which would limit the program to 3 years, has garnered only 14 co-sponsors and is not made it out of committee.

OOIDA’s lawsuit attempting to stop the program, which on the surface, appears without any merit, has not been given a hearing date by the DC Court of Appeals.

And perhaps more telling, The TEAMSTERS and their ineffectual leader, James P. Hoffa, have made no moves to interfere this time as they did back in 2007.

Cloned Trucks – Another misconception about Cross Border Trucking

Another report that opponents of cross border trucking have latched onto and using to push their agenda of misinformation about Mexican trucks is that of Mexican drug gangs “cloning” trucks to smuggle their contraband.

There is no evidence to be found that 18 wheel road rigs are being “cloned”. What the reports state is COMMERCIAL VEHICLES being cloned. A commercial vehicle can be anything from a 1/4 ton pickup to an 18 wheeler. This is like the misconception, the facts of which can’t be found, that 10,000 commercial vehicles are being hijacked. Again, the operative word is “commercial vehicle”. Package delivery vans, pickups 2 axle, three axle straight trucks.

This is what the transportation Safety Administration issued on 15 October 2010 which seems to be the basis for these amplified claims.
The TSA bulletin stated:

Drug traffickers also have been known to hijack and clone legitimate commercial trucks to transport illicit cargo across the border. According to a highway cargo trade group,in 2010, criminals hijacked over 10,000commercial trucks in Mexico.

Hmmm, a “highway trade group”? Not the best source of information depending on what side of the debate they are on..

TSA went on to state:

“Although DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) lacks evidence that drug trafficking organizations are able to clone FAST & certified trucks, it remains a concern for the private sector. (DHSI&A) “…believes the possibility that drug traffickers can use FAST & certified trucks remains low based on the numerous requirements for certification.”That said, (DHSI&A) cannot discount the potential threat based on widespread cloning by drug traffickers of other commercial trucks.

With that being said, let’s take a look at the cloned trucks that have been found in the US.

From OFFICER.COM 

SUBJECT: UNUSUAL INCIDENT – CLONED CHP COMMERCIAL MRE VEHICLE USED FOR
SMUGGLING UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS

SYNOPSIS:

A DISABLED DODGE PICKUP TRUCK EQUIPPED WITH FUNCTIONAL EMERGENCY LIGHTS, CHP LOGOS AND PAINTED TO RESEMBLE A CHP COMMERCIAL MOBILE ROAD
ENFORCEMENT TRUCK WAS FOUND TO BE OCCUPIED WITH NINE UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS.

SUMMARY OF INCIDENT:

DURING THE EARLY MORNING HOURS OF JULY 9, 2010, A US BORDER PATROL UNIT ON ROUTINE PATROL IN THE AREA OF FORRESTER ROAD NORTH OF IMLER ROAD IN
IMPERIAL COUNTY, CAME UPON AND STOPPED TO ASSIST WHAT APPEARED TO BE A CHP COMMERCIAL MOBILE ROAD ENFORCEMENT PICKUP TRUCK WITH A FLAT LEFT
REAR TIRE. WHILE THE AGENTS WERE APPROACHING THE PICKUP CHP UNIT 85-R3, OFFICERS H. TAVARES, #14839 AND R. SANCHEZ #17731, OBSERVING THE BORDER PATROL AND CHP PICKUP TRUCK, STOPPED TO RENDER ASSISTANCE. THE CHP OFFICERS IMMEDIATELY NOTED DISCREPEANCIES WITH THE MRE TRUCK’S MARKINGS AND EQUIPMENT. THE TRUCK INITIALLY APPEARED UNOCCUPIED AND UPON CLOSER EXAMINATION THE BORDER PATROL AGENTS DISCOVERED NINE UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS CONCEALED WITHIN THE CARGO COMPARTMENT OF THE TRUCK FURTHER INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE TRUCK WAS A CLONED VEHICLE EQUIPPED WITH FUNCTIONING EMERGENCY LIGHT BARS, STAR EMBLEM, LETTERING,
PUSH BUMPER, AND ALTERED LICENSE PLATES DESIGNED TO APPEAR AS CALIFORNIA EXEMPT PLATES. A SEARCH OF THE AREA FOR THE DRIVER WAS CONDUCTED WITH
US BORDER PATROL WHICH YIELDED NEGATIVE RESULTS. THE TRUCK AND ITS OCCUPANTS WERE TURNED OVER TO HOMELAND SECURITY INVESTIGATORS OF THE IMPERIAL VALLEY BORDER ENFORCEMENT SECURITY TASK FORCE LED BY ICE.

ACTION TAKEN OR CONTEMPLATED: SERGEANT PROCTOR, #13544, ASSUMED SCENE MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES. PHOTOGRAPHS WERE TAKEN. THE TRUCK REGISTRATION INDICATES A RELEASE OF LIABILITY TO A COMPANY OUT OF MEXICO.ICE SEIZED THE VEHICLE PENDING FORFEITURE AND WILL HANDLE THE INVESTIGATION. ACTING COMMANDER, LIEUTENANT M. SHAFFER, #9890, WAS NOTIFIED AS WAS BORDER DIVISION CHIEF S. LYKINS.

A Webb County Texas cloned Sheriff’s vehicle:

The words “Webb County Sheriff” and “911” blazed from the side of the truck, complete with a fake serial number on the tailgate. Authorities confirmed their suspicions that the truck was a fake by contacting the Sheriff’s Office, which said it didn’t have any trucks in the area.

 

They like to clone TxDOT (Highway Department Trucks)

Authorities with the Texas Department of Transportation also known as TxDOT are alerting their employees and the public about an illegal operation involving drugs and fake TxDOT trucks.

Investigators in south and east Texas have busted two different individuals who they say were using fake TxDOT trucks to smuggle marijuana across the state.

One man was arrested and charged in east Texas near Yokum with drug possession. Other charges are pending.

Authorities were first tipped to the illegal operation last month by an actual TxDOT employee in south Texas near Victoria.

The employee was driving down the highway when he noticed what looked like a TxDOT truck. The employee caught up to the driver and tried to wave at him. But after the driver didn’t wave back the TxDOT employee started noticing that something about the truck wasn’t right.

“The individual had a TxDOT logo on the door which was absolutely correct but it was the reflective stripes on the side of the vehicle as well as the back of the vehicle and the numbering system so we’re happy he got it wrong because it led to his arrest” said Mark Ball, a TxDOT spokesperson out of Dallas.

TXDOT isn’t sure how long the illegal operation has been going on nor do they know how far it extends.

The state agency is warning its employees that they may be pulled over by police just to make sure they’re legitimate.

 

‘Cloned’ Border Patrol Pickup With DHS Plates Stopped Carrying Pot; Driver In BP Uniform; Badge, Other BP Gear Seized

These incidents generally involve the use of vehicles that have been carefully painted or otherwise made to look like an official company or government vehicle. In a few of the more brazen attempts, smugglers have used vehicles that were nearly identical to those used by Border Patrol, as evidenced by the latest incident in Del Rio, Texas.

 

Fake HEB truck had real cargo, but it wasn’t legal

The abandoned 18-wheeler found at a northeast Houston truck stop appeared to be part of the H-E-B supermarket chain’s transport fleet.

But investigators on Monday didn’t find a load of fresh produce bound for grocery store shelves when they opened the door. Instead, they uncovered more than 4,400 pounds of marijuana wrapped in tight plastic bundles.

H-E-B officials said they have a ready explanation: The 18-wheeler doesn’t belong to them, regardless of its rather impressive disguise.

“We have no record of that truck at all,” said Cyndy Garza-Robert, a spokeswoman for the San Antonio-based company.

DPS officials said the truck was made up to resemble one of H-E-B’s legitimate long-haul carriers. Called “cloning,” the tactic is fast becoming a favorite for narcotics traffickers hoping to avoid law enforcement scrutiny on the freeways.

“This one was extremely detailed. It would pass almost anyone’s inspection as being an H-E-B truck,” said Lt. Dan Webb, with the Texas Department of Public Safety. “The Mexican (drug) cartels have a lot of sophistication when it comes to cloning. They do their research. They do a very professional job.”

 

An local grocery truck which didn’t come across the border.

Ton of Marijuana Seized From Cloned UPS Truck in Arizona

Arizona Department of Public Safety Detectives have confiscated about 2,118 pounds of marijuana from a truck that appeared identical to a United Parcel Service truck.

When it just gotta hasta really be there on time, what better way than UPS or FEDEX.

I think you get the idea. When reports talk of “cloned” commercial trucks, they are referring to trucks that are part of our everyday world that wouldn’t seem out of the ordinary and normally wouldn’t be stopped.

Any questions kiddies?

Cloned TxDOT maintenance truck

Cloned TxDOT maintenance truck

Cloned TxDOT maintenance truck

Cloned TxDOT maintenance truck

Cloned Border Patrol truck seized in Del Rio Texas

Cloned Webb County Texas patrol truck seized close to Corpus Christi

Cloned UPS package van seized in Phoenix

Opponents of Cross Border Trucking enlist hate groups and their spokesmen to mislead the public

Absent any proof that allowing a few more Mexican trucks access to the United State under the upcoming Cross Border Pilot Program, will encourage more smuggling of contraband or worse, opponents of the pilot program, their allies and spokesmen on trucking talk radio are making an all out effort to fabricate a problem that does not exist, and enlisting acknowledged hate groups with ties to white supremacists, and convicted child murderers to to further spread fear and misinformation about Mexican trucks.

There have been posts by OOIDA members on hate sites such as STORMFRONT.ORG which have titillated and agitated the wannabe “turd reichers”, but not much has come of it. But on July 8, two days after resolution of the impasse on cross border trucking with Mexico was reached, that all changed.

On that day the Federation for American Immigration Reform, known by it’s acronym FAIR, released a statement that closely mirrors Teamster President James Hoffa’s ludicrous and debunked charges about unsafe and dangerous Mexican trucks.

For those not familiar with them, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is a group with one mission: to severely limit immigration into the United States. Although FAIR maintains a veneer of legitimacy that has allowed its principals to testify in Congress and lobby the federal government, this veneer hides much ugliness. FAIR leaders have ties to white supremacist groups and eugenicists and have made many racist statements. Its advertisements have been rejected because of racist content. FAIR’s founder, John Tanton, has expressed his wish that America remain a majority-white population: a goal to be achieved, presumably, by limiting the number of nonwhites who enter the country.

BACKGROUND ON FAIR

John Tanton founded the Federation for American Immigration Reform on Jan. 2, 1979, in Washington D.C. Roger Conner, an environmental lawyer, was appointed executive director, while Tanton served as the chairman of the board of directors. Before establishing FAIR, Tanton had experience working with groups concerned about how population growth affected the environment. Tanton served in several Sierra Club leadership posts, and he had been the president of Zero Population Growth, a group founded by biologist and longtime FAIR adviser Paul Ehrlich, from 1975 to 1977.

The founding of FAIR was a major change for Tanton. But he was driven to shift his efforts to the battle against immigration by his increasing concern that it was the primary cause of population growth. As a result, FAIR focuses exclusively on immigration issues. Its goal, according to its website, is to set immigration quotas “at the lowest feasible levels” and to prevent all illegal immigration. The group attempts to appear moderate, even though its record is extreme, particularly on racial issues. This strategy has paid off: In August 2009, FAIR President Dan Stein boasted that FAIR leaders had testified before Congress about 100 times.

On Oct. 9, 1988, the Arizona Republic published excerpts from embarrassing memos that had been sent by Tanton and Conner to members of FAIR’s leadership. The documents were known as theWITAN memos; they came from an October 1986 conference in which Tanton met with a number of anti-immigration activists for a strategy session. The memos revealed Tanton’s innermost, and controversial, thoughts. Tanton warned of a “Latin onslaught,” complained of Latinos’ allegedly low “educability.” He asked, “Will Latin American migrants bring with them the tradition of the mordida (bribe), the lack of involvement in public affairs, etc.?” He also wondered: “Can homo contraceptivus[meaning whites] compete with homo progenitiva [meaning Latinos] if borders aren’t controlled? Or is advice to limit ones [sic] family simply advice to move over and let someone else with greater reproductive powers occupy the space?”

You can read the entire history of FAIR here.

Some of FAIR affiliates are THE SOCIAL CONTRACT PRESS routinely publishes race-baiting articles penned by white nationalists. The press is a program of U.S. Inc, the foundation created by John Tanton, the racist founder and principal ideologue of the modern nativist movement. TSCP puts an academic veneer of legitimacy over what are essentially racist arguments about the inferiority of today’s immigrants

CENTER FOR IMMIGRATION STUDIES (CIS) bills itself as an “independent” think tank that seeks “to expand the base of public knowledge”about immigration, the Washington, D.C.-based group is only interested in one thing. CIS’s reams of reports, as well as its blog postings, editorials, and frequent panels and press conferences, incessantly push the idea that America’s immigration system is an unadulterated evil and that the only way to save America from impending doom is to cut drastically the number of immigrants. CIS has blamed immigrants, both legal and undocumented, for everything from terrorism to global warming. To make its case seem as strong as possible, CIS often manipulates data, relying on shaky statistics or faulty logic to come to the preordained conclusion that immigration is bad for this country. But CIS studies have been regularly debunked by mainstream academics and think tanks including the Immigration Policy Center, the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities and America’s Voice.

Minuteman child killer and FAIR spokesman Shawna Forde now sits on death row for the murders of Brisenia Flores and her father Raul

Shawna Forde, 41, the nativist extremist who was recently convicted of the home invasion robbery in Arizona where 9 year old Brisenia Flores and her father were murdered, is known as the leader of Minuteman American Defense (MAD), a hard-line group opposed to undocumented immigration. But six years ago, appearing on a televised immigration roundtable organized by a local Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) affiliate in Washington state, Forde was repeatedly identified as a representative of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) Shawna Forde is currently on Arizona’s Death Row.

It is shameful that opponents of cross border trucking, groups such as The Teamsters and OOIDA have resorted to such underhanded methods to push their agenda, especially in the absence of any credible data to support their positions.

OOIDA enlists talk radio to spread misinformation and lies

OOIDA, a strong advertiser on satellite radio service SIRIUS/XM has long reached out to popular radio hosts such as Dave Nemo and more controversial hosts such as Steve Sommers of America Truckers Network and his father, Dale “Trucking Bozo” Sommers. While Nemo and Steve Sommers have always been fairly moderate, Dale Sommers is less so, allowing fruitcakes from the trucking industry such as his friend Rusty “Yoda” Wade and others who agree with his North American Union theories and Mexico is the cause of all our ills viewpoint to blather on.

Dave Nemo, in the past a moderate voice presents us with an “expert” to further press the idea that 100 or so, closely monitored, rigidly inspected trucks will give the cartels a leg up in their efforts to move more contraband across our borders.

Dr. George W. Grayson, member of the Center for Immigration Studies Board of Directors, has transformed himself into an expert on Mexican trucking issues courtesy of Dave Nemo and other opponents of cross border trucking

George W. Grayson, who is the Class of 1938 Professor of Government at the College of William & Mary, is a member of the Center for Immigration Studies Board of Directors. He is also a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, an associate scholar at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, and a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He has made more than 200 research trips to Mexico and authored approximately twenty books and monographs on Mexico, Latin America, and international affairs. (Hell, I’ve got him beat. I live in Mexico and have made thousands of safe trips)

Bringing Grayson on today to spread his theories which seem tailored to the oppositions desperate last ditch effort to sabotage the cross border program, shows that Nemo has finally crossed the line and lost any relevance as a truckers advocate.

It’s a shame with all the hatred in the world, organizations such as TEAMSTERS, OOIDA and their allies and spokespeople see the need to use this hatred to spread their misinformation.

FMCSA refuses demand by OOIDA to delay cross border program with Mexico

You'll soon being seeing safe, modern Mexican rigs driven by professional drivers on US highways as the US finally complies with it's obligations under NAFTA

It’s all procedural, but FMCSA has refused demands by the Owner Operators Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) to halt implementation of the Cross Border Pilot Program pending resolution of the frivolous and baseless lawsuit filed against the agency earlier this month.

OOIDA’s legal counsel, Paul Cullen Sr. with The Cullen Law Firm, sent a letter to FMCSA on July 8 asking the agency to consent to stay the program pending resolution of the petition for review.

FMCSA’s counsel denied the request on July 13.

Under rules of procedure, OOIDA was  required to ask FMCSA for the stay because a party to such an appeal, (OOIDA) cannot ask the court for a stay unless it first asks the agency (FMCSA) and is turned down.

On July 6, OOIDA filed a petition for review with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. OOIDA is demanding that the court  review the program and to “enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in part), or determine the validity of the implementation of this program.”

OOIDA claims that “implementation of the pilot program is arbitrary, capricious and abuse of discretion and otherwise not in accordance with law.”

This is just another of OOIDA’s attempts to mislead the public and prevent the United States from complying with their obligations under NAFTA.

Implementation of the cross border program will finally put us in compliance and cause Mexico to lift the legal retaliatory tariff’s put on more than 90 US export good when the Obama administration defunded the previous pilot program. Those tariffs have cost Americans more than 25,000 jobs and 14% market share in the agriculture and manufacturing sectors.

OOIDA Executive Vice President Todd Spencers admitted in a “Call to Action” that neither the lawsuit, nor a bill before Congress, HR-2407 , has a snowballs chance in hell of stopping the program.

In their desperation, OOIDA resorted to filing this lawsuit which on it’s face is “arbitrary, capricious and frivolous” inasmuch as the issues raised have already been resolved by the US Supreme Court in the case “PUBLIC CITIZEN v FMCSA”  In the unanimous decision, SCOTUS sided with the defendants.

The D.C appeals court is likely to rule against OOIDA in this lawsuit also.

Another lame attempt by OOIDA to delay the Mexican cross border trucking program

One has to ask themselves, “Are the folks at OOIDA as stupid as they seem to be or do they simply think the American trucker and the public are stupid”? It would seem to be a little of both after the seeing the latest attempt to derail the Mexican cross border pilot program.

The issues of “truck safety”, “border security” as it relates to Mexican trucks has all pretty much been debunked. What’s left? Appealing to the tree huggers, the environmentalists to try to stop this perfectly legitimate program.

On Tuesday, FMCSA announced the availability of a Draft Environmental Assessment (DEA) that evaluates the
potential environmental impacts resulting from the implementation of its United States-Mexico cross-border long- haul trucking pilot program in the FEDERAL REGISTER.

OOIDA immediately jumped into the fray recognizing that Environment Impact Statements, when required, can delay a project for months or years while the assessment is made.

Mark Reddig interviewed Joe Rajkovacz, Director of Regulatory Affairs and Senior Editor Jami Jones, whom as usual was absolutely livid at the thought of Mexicans being allowed onto our highways. And from their indignation and comments, it would appear that OOIDA is preparing to file another frivolous and meritless lawsuit based on environmental issues. Only thing wrong with this is the issue has been argued in the courts before and the plaintiff’s lost the argument.

CASE LAW PREVAILS

It started back in 2002 when Public Citizen sued the FMCSA claiming an environmental impact study was required before any effort could be made to open the southern border to Mexican trucks as required under our NAFTA obligations.

At that time, FMCSA prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA), but they did not prepare and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) as PUBLIC CITIZEN claimed was required by the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA).

The EA focused mainly on the environmental impact from doing more inspections, not on the impact from more trucks driving the roads.

Public Citizen sued to stop the possibility of cross border trucking until an EIS was prepared.Public Citizen argued that the increased number of trucks on US roads was liable to have a significant environmental impact, and therefore an EIS was required. There claim was that more than 30,000 older polluting trucks burning high sulphur diesel would have an impact on our environment.

The trial court found in favor of the defendent, FMCSA. The Trial Court found that although the FMCSA pilot program would result in more trucks, FMCSA did not have control over those trucks and therefore did not have to account for them in an EIS. Public Citizen went shopping and appealed to the liberal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

The Ninth Circuit ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, reversing the trial court. The Appellate Court found that the EA was deficient because it failed to give adequate consideration to the overall environmental impact from the Mexican trucks. Of course, FMCSA appealed, all the way to the United States Supreme Court.

The case was argued before the Supreme Court on April 21, 2004 with a unanimous verdict being rendered on June 7, 2004.

The US Supreme Court held that the FMCSA had no control of the trucks once the regulations governing the pilot program were passed, and would therefore be unable to act on the findings of an EIS even if it did conduct one.
FMCSA has no statutory authority to impose or enforce emissions controls or to establish environmental requirements unrelated to motor carrier safety.

The Court also found that the passage of the regulations was not sufficiently responsible for the increased pollution caused by the trucks to warrant an EIS.

Justice Clarence Thomas, the Courts most conservative Judge wrote the opinion which you can read here.

It’s ironic that OOIDA is constantly whining how the government need to get there fingers out of trucking in the areas of EOBR’s, HOS, Speed Limiters, and issues with the EPA and CARB, yet when it comes to a handful of Mexican trucks, they’re crying to the government demanding action be taken to keep them out of the country. Using misinformation, fearmongering and outright lies to accomplish there agenda.

They lost in 2004 and again in 2009 when 9th Circuit refused to issue a ruling on a case OOIDA and TEAMSTERS brought before the court, which was thrown out when the previous program was defunded. If they choose to waste their members money this time, they’ll lose again.

Instead of all the lies, posturing and all of the other underhanded deceitful methods they have employed, they should eat a little crow, cut their losses and politely bow out. Even Executive Vice President Todd Spencer has admitted defeat in his latest “CALL TO ACTION” with the statement; NEITHER OF THE INITIATIVES STANDS MUCH CHANCE OF STOPPING THE PROGRAM FLAT. For once, Spencer is correct.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

As usual, Jami Jones threw in claims that are not supported by facts or documentation.

First, she says that 1000′s of trucks will be coming across the border during the program. Experts, including myself have concluded that if the program is able to attract 20 Mexican carriers, they will be lucky. 20 carriers field 3 or 4 trucks per company would put less than 80 more rigs on our highways.

Jones claims they’ll be filling up in Mexico with subsidized high sulfur diesel which is another untruth. Government subsidies on fuel in Mexico ended in 2006 causing protests and shutdowns among Mexico’s trucking community

Another untruth is that ultra low sulfur diesel, 15 ppm is not available in Mexico. Mexico ships via pipelines millions of barrels of crude to the refineries on the Texas gulf coast to be refined into ULSD and returned via pipeline to Mexico where it is available in the border cities and large metropolitan areas such as Monterrey.

The pilot program would prohibit trucks earlier than 1998 and all trucks from Mexico would have to meet EPA standards in effect at time of manufacture.

Another twisting of the facts is that the “lack” of ULSD would prevent new US trucks from having comparable access to Mexican markets. However, the truth being is that most trucks that would take advantage of Mexican access would not go any further than Monterrey or Saltillo, a trip from Laredo of 200 miles. They could easily do this on a full tank of fuel purchased in the US.

We’ll keep an eye on this but from our point of view, it’s another lame attempt to delay, delay the inevitable while because of the legal retaliatory tariffs, the US continues to lose jobs and market share to Canada.

Cross Border Agreement signed. OOIDA already in Court – Higher Tariffs possible as a result

Corrupt little congress critter Peter DeFazio, waving the key to the TEAMSTERS bank vault after once again bowing to their demands and introducing a bill designed to hinder cross border trucking with Mexico. Silly smile on his face reminds us of the Commandant in "Police Academy" when the hooker was under the table. Another Teamsters perk perhaps?

It didn’t take long after today’s announcement of the official signing of the Cross Border Pilot Program agreement in Mexico City for opponents to come out swinging with the lies, fear mongering and preying on the ignorance of those too apathetic to look for the truth for themselves. And as expected, OOIDA is headed to court.

In a “Special Report” senior editor Jami Jones writes:

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association immediately filed a petition for review with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The Association is asking the court to review the program and to “enjoin, set-aside, suspend (in whole or in part) or determine the validity of the implementation of this program.”

“Implementation of the pilot program is arbitrary, capricious and abuse of discretion and otherwise not in accordance with law,” the Association’s petition states.

Noted in the petition is a “final agency action” that occurred on June 29, well in advance of the final plan being released to the public or signed.

We imagine this lame attempt to stop this perfectly legal program will be rejected by the DC Court of Appeals as it was in 2009 by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

OOIDA is also excited by the actions of three of the Congressmen they and the TEAMSTERS have in their hip pocket.

In an earlier presser, Norita Taylor informed members of the introduction of a silly little bill titled “Protecting America’s Roads Act”.

The presser stated in part that the bipartisan bill seeks to restrict the cross-border trucking program to a pilot program that lasts no more than three years. The bill prohibits the Department of Transportation from granting operating authority that extends beyond the duration of the pilot program – which effectively ends any attempt to grant permanent operating authority to Mexican motor carriers.

The bill also shifts the financial responsibility of electronic monitoring of Mexican motor carriers participating in the program back away from U.S. taxpayers and truckers.

What are the chances of this bill or PARA gaining any traction? Depends on the number of co-sponsors it gets. There is not much energy in Congress to oppose the pilot program fortunately.

But if the bill should pass, higher retaliatory tariffs are almost certain to be imposed costing even more US jobs. Strange that OOIDA and TEAMSTERS don’t address the 25,000+ jobs lost because of the tariffs, job losses brought on by their illogical opposition to the US meeting their promises and obligations.

A Mexican embassy official Karen Antebi, speaking at a June 29 event organized by the Washington International Trade Association (WITA), noted that if the US reneged on its agreement, sought to sabotage it through efforts to stop it in the Highway Appropriations Bill or similar legislation, Mexico would retain its right to retaliate, which could include increasing or changing the retaliatory duties.

Asked what Mexico would do if [the program] gets canceled again, or if it doesn’t get funded, I think most of you know the answer,” Antebi said. “We’ve reserved our right to reimpose, change, increase, [or] deepen the retaliation list.”

And if that happens, once again, OOIDA, The TEAMSTERS and their bought and paid for members of Congress will be responsible for more horrendous job losses and losses of market share to Canada and China. Let’s not allow that to happen.

US & Mexico sign agreement for Safe Secure Cross-Border Trucking Program

Safe, compliant Mexican trucks will soon be allowed access to the US under a Cross Border Trucking proposal signed today in Mexico City

It’s official folks! U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes Dionisio Arturo Pèrez-Jàcome Friscione joined today in Mexico City to sign agreements resolving the dispute over long-haul, cross-border trucking services between the United States and Mexico.

This agreement paves the way for Mexico to begin to lift 50% of the $2.4 billion in retaliatory tariffs that have been in place for more than two years, a result of the Obama Administration caving to pressure from the TEAMSTERS and OOIDA and defunding the previous highly successful Cross Border Demonstration Project.

Pursuant to an agreement signed by the United States Trade Representative and the Secretaría de Economía of the United Mexican States, lifting of the retaliatory tariffs will provide opportunities to increase U.S. exports to Mexico and expand job creation in the U.S.

The agreement provides that Mexico will suspend 50 percent of the retaliatory tariffs within ten days. Mexico will suspend the remainder of the tariffs within five days of the first Mexican trucking company receiving its U.S. operating authority. As a result, Mexican tariffs that now range from five to 25 percent on an array of U.S. agricultural and industrial products such as apples, certain pork products, and personal care products would be immediately cut in half and will disappear entirely within a few months

These perfectly legal tariffs have cost Americans and estimated 25,000 jobs and more than 15% of market share in the agri business community, much of which has gone to Canada.

Secretary LaHood said: “The agreements signed today are a win for roadway safety and they are a win for trade. By opening the door to long-haul trucking between the United States and Mexico, America’s third largest trading partner, we will create jobs and opportunity for our people and support economic development in both nations. I thank President Calderon and Secretary Perez-Jacome for their leadership and for their partnership as we build a safer, more prosperous future for North America and the world.”

As a result of these meetings, and in consultation with Mexico, trucks will be required to comply with all Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and must have electronic monitoring systems to track hours-of-service compliance. In addition, the U.S. Department of Transportation will review the complete driving record of each driver and require all drug testing samples to be analyzed in Department of Health and Human Services-certified laboratories located in the U.S. The Department will also require drivers to undergo an assessment of their ability to understand the English language and U.S. traffic signs. The new agreement also ensures that Mexico will provide reciprocal authority for U.S. carriers to engage in cross-border long-haul operations into that country.

The notice in the Federal Register has been published as required by law and can be obtained here

U.S. truckers shocked by agreement with Mexico

Predictably, OOIDA was out of the gate with a purely sophomoric pre-prepared press release.

In it, OOIDA President Jim Johnston declares:

“If the agreement is good for the U.S. why the hell is he (Secretary LaHood) sneaking down there to sign it?” So much for their supposed transparency. Why not let the public see the details before signing the agreement? Seems like the Administration is dead set on caving to Mexico’s shakedown regardless of the costs to the American public and our tax coffers.”

Apparently early senility has set in upon Mr. Johnston since details of the program have been made available to the public for months and a mandatory 30 day comment period was established for interested parties to voice their concerns. We doubt Mr. LaHood “snuck” down to Mexico, rather he simply didn’t call and ask OOIDA’s permission before he went, as if he needed it.

OOIDA Executive Vice President Todd Spencer went on to repeat his totally baseless and debunked claims about Mexico and it’s truckers:

“This program will jeopardize the livelihoods of tens of thousands of U.S.-based small-business truckers and professional truck drivers and undermine the standard of living for the rest of the driver community.”

Yeah? Right Spencer. 100 trucks and drivers are going to jeopardize the livelihoods of tens of thousands of US truckers (OOIDA members) and for the rest of us, undermine our standard of living?

Spencer has also insinuated that OOIDA and their allies have lawsuit waiting to be filed against the cross border program, a lawsuit that basically has no merit. Attempts are also being made to stop this with provisions slipped into the current highways authorization bill currently being debated in committees on capital hill. Fortunately, there doesn’t seem to be much interest by legislators in pursuing that tactic.

HOFFA CONDEMNS MEXICAN TRUCK PILOT PROGRAM

As expected, James P. Hoffa opened his pie hole regurgitating the same lame bullshit that he’s been passing around as “truth” for almost a decade.

Hoffa said the program is probably illegal because it grants permanent operating authority to Mexican trucks after 18 months in the so-called “pilot program” outlined in the proposed rule published in the Federal Register. Congress has not granted DOT the legal authority to do so, Hoffa said. Further, DOT would use money from the Highway Trust Fund to pay for electronic on-board recorders for Mexican trucks. Hoffa questioned whether DOT can do that legally. Hoffa has apparently not read the FMCSA’s Federal Registry Notice that addressed and totally debunked his ludicrous condemnation.

“Opening the border to dangerous trucks at a time of high unemployment and rampant drug violence is a shameful abandonment of the DOT’s duty to protect American citizens from harm and to spend American tax dollars responsibly,” Hoffa said.

“This so-called pilot program is a concession to multinational corporations that send jobs to Mexico. It erodes our national security. It endangers motorists. It ignores the rampant corruption among Mexican law enforcement. It lowers wages and robs jobs from hard-working American truck drivers and warehouse workers.

“It adds insult to injury to force U.S. taxpayers to pay for monitoring equipment on Mexican trucks so Mexican carriers can take away their jobs,” Hoffa said. “The DOT shows more loyalty to the Mexican people than it does to Americans.”

“This pilot program doesn’t even meet NAFTA’s requirement that the Mexican government grant comparable authority to U.S. trucks. No trucking company or driver in their right mind would travel in Mexico under the State Department’s current travel warning,” Hoffa said.

Since 2007, violence has worsened as drug cartels compete for trade routes to the U.S. More than 40,000 people have been killed, and kidnapping and torture are rampant.

Further, a Homeland Security incident report from Oct. 15, 2010 indicates that drug traffickers have hijacked and cloned legitimate trucks to transport illicit cargo across the border. According to the document, criminals hijacked over 10,000 commercial trucks in 2010 in Mexico. No legitimate confirmation of this can be obtained.

Hoffa said DOT cannot guarantee the safety of Mexican trucks.

“Mexican trucks simply don’t meet the same standards as U.S. trucks,” he said. “Medical and physical standards for Mexican trucking firms are lower than for U.S. companies. And how can Mexico enforce highway safety laws when it can’t even control drug cartels?

Again numbnuts, read the register notice!

DeFazio Fights Cross-Border Trucking “Pilot” Program under orders from Hoffa and other “contributors”
Today, corrupt Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, and longtime being in the pockets of special interests such as the TEAMSTERS, wrote Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood challenging the administration’s cross-border trucking “pilot” program that opens the U.S.-Mexico border to the free flow of truck traffic.

He also submitted legislation to limit the administration’s authority to implement the program. This agreement will have a significant impact on the safety of American drivers, security on the border, and American jobs. (Where have we heard those false accusations before?)

“As I have said many times, three issues must be addressed in the cross-border trucking program: safety, security and job loss,” said DeFazio. “I have sent several letters to DOT asking them to address these issues. My calls for caution have gone unanswered. My legislation puts the brakes on a bad deal for American truck drivers and the traveling public.”

DeFazio’s bill will limit the use of scarce Highway Trust Fund dollars to pay for the Electronic On-Board Recorders (EOBR) for Mexican trucks.

“As we debate deep and harsh cuts to programs that help middle class families, it is outrageous that taxpayers are being told to foot the bill for the Mexican trucking industry to comply with American safety standards. My bill would stop the Department of Transportation from raiding the Highway Trust Fund to pay for equipment on Mexican trucks. Let the Mexican government or the Mexican carriers pay for their equipment and let’s use U.S. gas tax revenue for its intended purpose of putting Americans to work rebuilding our roads and bridges,” said DeFazio. (Like Hoffa, DeFazio doesn’t have a clue)

In March, DeFazio sent a letter to Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood requesting additional details regarding the proposed pilot program theU.S.negotiated with Mexican officials.

The pilot allows Mexican trucks to operate on U.S.highways beyond the current border commercial zone and it allows Mexican carriers to obtain permanent operating authority from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) after 18 months in the pilot program. That permanent authority could not be rescinded were Congress or the Administration to terminate the Mexican truck pilot program.

DeFazio continues to questions the legal authority of DOT to implement a permanent program.

DeFazio continues to be an idiot and a pawn of James P. Hoffa and other opponents of this program.