Members of the Senate continue to labor through the issues included in the Department of Transportation appropriation bill, the most heated being Mexican trucks doing business on U.S. highways. The battle escalated last week when an amendment was offered by subcommittee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-WA) and Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) that would severely restrict access to Mexican carriers.

The amendment passed the full committee by a unanimous vote. The Murray-Shelby amendment would place stringent requirements before granting access for Mexican trucks entering the United States. While a majority of Senate members appear to support the Murray-Shelby amendment, other GOP lawmakers stand with President Bush, who has threatened to veto the bill should it pass with the strict amendment intact.

Hence, pros and cons of allowing long haul Mexican trucks to run U.S. highways led to discussions that made for a long day in the U.S. Senate yesterday. As a bipartisan representation of lawmakers spoke vehemently on why it is too early to allow Mexican trucks access, others worked behind the scenes to modify the spending bill to suit Bush.

That faction is spearheaded by Arizona Republican John McCain, Sen. Phil Gramm (R-TX), Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) and others. According to the Washington Post, the Democrats have more than enough votes to pass the bill, but McCain and other senators say they will engage in "extended debate" (a polite word for filibuster) unless Dems step forward to compromise.

One lawmaker who is adamant about keeping the border closed for now is Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-SC). Dorgan has written an amendment to the DOT appropriations bill that contains legislative language identical to an amendment approved last month by the U.S. House that bars Mexican trucks from entering the U.S. and hauling freight any further than the 20 miles now allowed.

Dorgan told fellow senators yesterday that allowing Mexican trucks full access "would be a giant step back for safety of American highways." He cited poor resources to inspect Mexican trucks at U.S. crossings and a lack of equivalent safety standards as used for U.S. trucks. "Until Mexico has enforced reliable standards of their own we can't jeopardize safety," he said.

Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-CO) reiterated yesterday that the United States is unprepared to deal with Mexican trucks. Campbell, who has his commercial driver's license, said he believes the Bush administration's Jan. 1 deadline for allowing Mexican trucks full access to U.S. roads would be a grave mistake. He remains unconvinced despite assurances last week from the administration that everything would work out. "When you fast track, it's dangerous," he said.

Quoting an article from the July issue of Land Line, Campbell spoke of a recent government fact-finding mission that found border inspections in Texas to be lacking. "Texas' inspection system is virtually nonexistent," he read from the article. "Trucks pour over the border there. They may be safe and may be not."

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) repeated comments she made last week following the Senate hearing. Boxer said she was terrified after listening to Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta and other experts speak at the hearing. Mineta tried to assure lawmakers that everything would be fine by January 1, and not to worry because illegal trucks would be caught at the border. Boxer refuted Mineta's remarks, citing figures (for California inspections) that indicate only 2 percent of all trucks coming across the border are inspected. Of those, only 23 percent pass inspection.

Sen. Bond countered by saying the amendment proposed by Dorgan to keep the border closed and a similar House bill don't address how to correct safety flaws. He stressed that a good faith effort must be made to live up to the obligations of NAFTA.

Once a final Senate version of the spending bill is passed, the House and Senate will name conference members to reconcile a final bill by taking both versions and agreeing on compromise legislation. Once approved, the final bill will go back before Congress for final confirmation.
--by Keith Goble