(The following official statement of Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa was issued on August 4.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, through her designated fall guy Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator John Hill, announced the Transportation Department’s intent to illegally extend the unsafe Mexican cross-border pilot program for an additional two years.
The blatant disregard that Peters, Hill and the Bush administration have shown to Congress, which has time and again expressed overwhelming opposition to this unsafe program, is outrageous. They have continued down this dangerous road that threatens American drivers and their families despite a federal law that bans funding for the program.
The federal law took effect on Dec. 26, 2007, yet the FMCSA claimed it did not understand its intent and refused to shut down the pilot project, which began shortly after Labor Day last year.
Congress will not let this lawlessness continue. Just last week, a bill sponsored by Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., was unanimously approved in the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee shutting down the illegal pilot program by Sept. 6.
The bill also prohibits the Transportation Secretary from granting authority to any Mexican trucks beyond the commercial zone, unless specifically authorized by Congress. This bill follows action by the Senate Appropriations Committee, which on July 10 approved an amendment banning any and all programs to open the border to long-haul trucks from Mexico.
With such overwhelming opposition to this reckless and illegal program, it is inexcusable that the DOT and Bush Administration continue to defy the will of the American people and flaunt the letter of the law. Mexican trucks and truck drivers are not held to the same high safety standards as their U.S. counterparts. How many lives do we have to risk on our highways before the Bush administration puts public safety ahead of the greed of multinational corporations looking to send more of our middle class jobs to Mexico?