Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007 – On the highway, truckers report that rumors are rampant regarding the start of the Mexican cross-border program. Rumors are flying fast on Capitol Hill, too, and straight answers are hard to find.
FMCSA Administrator John Hill called a press teleconference at 4 p.m. today in Washington to update the media on the Mexican cross-border trucking pilot program, but reporters failed to get any kind of scoop.
At precisely 4 p.m., a female voice came to the phone and announced the conference call was off, and that everyone would get an e-mail with a new date. Sources say the teleconference was postponed because Hill was in meetings all day with DOT Secretary Mary Peters.
Meanwhile, Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-OR, issued a late-afternoon press release in strong opposition to the program. DeFazio stated the Bush administration indicated to him the pilot program will be a go for Friday, Sept. 7.
And so it appears that Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration intends to start the program any day, but confusion abounds and obstacles remain. One may be that FMCSA has not totally secured the final blessings of the DOT Office of the Inspector General. That blessing will be in the form of a final audit.
Late Wednesday afternoon, Madeleine Chulumovich, Director of Public Affairs for the Department of Transportation’s Inspector General’s office, said the audit had still not been issued.
When it is finally released, it will be the second report on the program provided to Congress in the past month.
The OIG’s first 2007 audit was given to Congress on Aug. 21. Eight primary provisions were addressed in that report but did not hand a slam dunk approval to DOT. The OIG acknowledged the agency had made progress, but the OIG did not readily sign off on two provisions required by Section 350 of the 2002 transportation appropriations legislation.
The OIG found additional improvements needed in two of the eight Section 350 (c) criteria. These involve improving the “quality of the data used to monitor Mexican commercial driver traffic convictions in the United States and ensuring adequate capacity to inspect Mexican buses.”
That hang-up with the first audit report seems to be a go, though, as Chulumovich has reported that FMCSA concurred with the IG’s recommendations and “proposed responsive corrective actions.”
This second and not-yet-released audit reviews compliance with 22 more provisions of Section 350 as required by Section 6901 of the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans’ Care, Katrina Recovery and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act of 2007.
Whatever is contained in the report, it is not the last hurdle. The FMSCA must respond to the IG’s findings, and the Mexican government must begin issuing permits to U.S. trucking companies to go anywhere in Mexico.
In addition to those hurdles, FMCSA will face legal challenges. The Teamsters, Public Citizen and Sierra Club plan to continue their lawsuit filed in the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco.
In a separate legal action, OOIDA President and CEO Jim Johnston said Thursday that OOIDA’s legal counsel had completed paperwork and the Missouri-based truckers’ association would be filing as soon as the pilot program is officially implemented. OOIDA will petition for a review of the Mexican cross-border program and a stay pending that review.
– By Sandi Soendker, managing editor
