MEXICANS TRUCKS * USA - Lawmakers lash back at cross-border plan

Any Mexican carrier participating in the program would have to meet a number of criteria, including its vehicles meeting all U.S. safety and emissions standards, and drivers passing an English proficiency exam

Washington,DC,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Jami Jones -May 6 2011: -- Questions of legal authority, irresponsible spending and national security plagued the newly unveiled plan to open the border to long-haul trucks, even as the DOT pushed forward and officially published the plan...  The Department of Transportation released a plan on April 8, which published in the Federal Register on April 13. The 30-day comment period is set to end on Friday, May 13...  The Obama administration’s plan to phase in a cross-border program that would result in permanent operating authority drew immediate fire from one U.S. lawmaker...  Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-OR, sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, that requests “written justification of how DOT’s planned program complies with the requirements for pilot programs” ...  (Image from Mexico Trucker: Nuevo Laredo Transito inspect drayage rig for compliance with OS/OW regulations on Hwy 2 south of Commercial Bridge III)

* Dump Mexican trucking proposal: Lawmakers

Washington,DC,USA -Fleet Owner, by Brian Straight -May 5, 2011: -- A group of 44 lawmakers delivered a signed letter to U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, yesterday demanding that the Obama Administration abandon plans to restart a controversial cross-border trucking program for Mexican motor carriers... “The cross-border trucking program clearly puts foreign interests above our own,” said U.S. Rep. Hunter (R-CA), in a press release. “It’s bad for the American economy. It’s bad for American truckers and the entire commercial trucking industry. And it’s bad for border security. Simply put, the cross-border trucking program is a straight handout to Mexico at the expense of American jobs, taxpayer dollars and security” ...The El Paso Intelligence Center reports that commercial vehicles are widely used by Mexican drug trafficking organizations... (Photo from tti.tamu.edu: Mexican Diesel Trucks. Alamo Area Council)