Posted on 09/01/2007 8:18:53 PM PDT by kellynla
The outgoing spokesman for President Bush says the U.S. Department of Transportation is trying to make sure that any trucks and truckers on U.S. highways are safe.
Tony Snow, who announced his plans to leave the White House post in two weeks, added that he doesn't believe what the president of the Teamsters Union has to say about the issue actually would be impartial.
He was responding to a press briefing question from Les Kinsolving, WND's correspondent at the White House. Kinsolving asked: "Teamsters President Hoffa has called the Bush administration's test program to allow Mexican trucks unrestricted access to U.S. highways, in his words, 'a disaster; all we're asking is that Mexican trucks and truckers meet the same standards as American trucks and drivers.' My question: Why do the Teamsters have to go to court to try to make Mexican truck drivers meet the same drug screening, physical evaluations and hazmat certifications as U.S. truckers?"
The Teamsters and other organizations went to court this week to try to obtain an order halting the program, and the Bush administration has responded with a request that it be allowed to move forward.
"There are a number of things that the Department of Transportation is involved in, in trying to maintain and ascertain and guarantee the safety of any trucks that are on U.S. highways," Snow said. "I don't think that I will buy lock, stock and barrel what the president of the Teamsters Union has to say about possibly competing trucking operations."
The Bush administration's court response to the request by the Sierra Club and Teamsters to block the program, scheduled to begin this weekend, was that the two organizations didn't have standing to ask for the halt, since they cannot prove the pilot program will harm them.
(Excerpt) Read more at worldnetdaily.com ...
In a second question, Kinsolving asked: "Did the president, on May the 30th of last year, promise completion of 70 miles of border fencing by this coming September the 30th, when less than 20 miles of this fencing have reportedly been completed?"
Oh well, I feel safer already! Whether it's 80 or closer to 20, that means there's only NINETEEN HUNDRED MILES OF BORDER NOT YET FENCED...and they haven't even thought about the Canadian border! Whoever the GOP comes up with next year to run for POTUS, he/she better GUARANTEE that BOTH borders will be secured, ALL illegals will be deported and businesses who hire illegals fined or the party will find A LOT of people either staying at home come election day and/or voting for a third party candidate. Fred Thompson, are you paying attention?
ping
I want to see him defend some of these insane policies on FR and engage us in debate.
What’s even funnier is how now the Teamsters are wonderful folks to some around here. ;)
Bush = Bad, Sierra Club = Good
Yeah, I know, I know, build the wall, blah blah...
Good question, don't ya think?
Exactly , one last “snow job” before he leaves. Thanks again Tony .....
Agreed. And your opening comments nail it!
I used to hugely admire Tony...going way back.
But I was real troubled by his immigration stance long before he took the WH job.
Of course, his illness has revived a lot the affection I once felt for him.
But politically speaking....I don't care to hear from him...much less engage with him. Go teach at Harvard, Tony, you deserve a good fat perk.
I used to regard him as family. But Fredo was family once too.
I was tinkering around in the search for Transportation Industry News earlier this evening and came across the following of which I excerpted only the latter part of the article as all the Hoffa stuff has been blown out all over the news already.
http://fleetowner.com/news/teamsters_border_block/
“...However, Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters said the demonstration program closely followed the requirements established by Congress in 2002. She stressed that the Inspector General certified that the program substantially meets eight criteria addressing inspector training, inspection facilities, and the development of safety procedures.
According to Peters, DOT has invested $500 million since 1995 to modernize border safety facilities and hire and train the more than 500 federal and state inspectors who inspect trucks crossing the border every day.
“Fourteen years ago, the U.S. pledged to allow the free flow of commerce across the North American continent. Three U.S. presidents and the Congress have considered and ultimately supported NAFTA’s trucking provisions, while the Supreme Court rejected unanimously a challenge to the Department’s implementation of those provisions,” she said in testimony before Congress earlier this year.
Peters stressed that the border is not being “thrown open” to any and all Mexican carriers. Only 100 pre-certified carriers are participating in this program, which have undergone in-person safety audits to ensure they comply with U.S. safety regulations. DOT is also requiring all Mexican truck drivers participating in the program to hold a valid commercial driver’s license, comply with U.S. medical requirements, comply with all U.S. hours-of-service rules and be able to understand questions and directions in English.
Mexican truck companies that are allowed to participate in the program must have insurance with a U.S.-licensed firm and meet all U.S. safety standards, including drug and alcohol testing and – if they meet these stringent standards – are only allowed to make international pickups and deliveries.”
This excerpt answers some questions, but it doesn’t hit upon what I was searching for, so I’ll continue my quest. I’m trying to find anything I can about related actions to this opening of our borders to the Mexican truckers. For every action there is a reaction, or in the case of what I am searching for, a cause of action.
I recall beginning back in the early 1970’s (I’ve been Many years in the Container Shipping business) the grousing from Internationals of the expense of American Transportation beginning with Port costs. Theories abounded back then about how to utilize Mexican Ports and cut costs, but always the Truck and Rail Transportation dilemma in Mexico stalled any action.
Now with our borders open to Mexican Truckers, the International Ocean Cargo Container shipping Industry needn’t waste much more time removing their business from North American Ports to less costly Mexico do they.
All the theories of yore I heard bantered about now coming into play makes me curious as to the true source of this manipulation. My search for trade news continues.
“so I’ll continue my quest”
Save your time...we are going to have one HELL OF A ROYAL MESS if we don’t get a POTUS next year who will start enforcing the immigration laws, deporting ALL illegals AND foreign muzzies...for starters. Because...one more 9/11 type terrorist attack in America and the citizenry will DEMAND IT!
Our ancestors didn’t risk life & limb to emigrate to this country just so a bunch of camel jockeys could come here, terrorize our women & children and make hamburger out of our families.
Starting on 9/12/2001, GWB should have secured BOTH borders, started deporting ALL illegals and foreign muzzies AND closed every mosque in America.
We didn’t allow the German American Bunds to operate in America during WWII; and there is no reason in hell that enemies of America should be allowed to stay here and operate under the faux assumption of even being a religion much less a “religion of peace.”
Sooner or later we are going to have to give the muzzies the jihad they so desperately want. And this time, we will finish the job!
Nytol!
bump
I am more worried about those damn Canadian truck drivers... some of em actually speak French ya know.
“Starting on 9/12/2001, GWB should have secured BOTH borders, started deporting ALL illegals and foreign muzzies...”
I think we ALL agree with you on that point kellynla, but my point is WHY didn’t he, and what influenced the decision not to.
Is there a combination of potentially disastrous problems associated with the actions, or inactions of this Administration caused by a source, and with what intent. I say yes, and we need begin to look at a broader scope of this rather than focus on a single action/inaction. To focus on a specific could cause us to be unprepared for another blindsiding event such as 9/11.
In former posts I’ve advocated what to me makes a Hell of a lot of sense and that is to abandon NAFTA. We don’t need to open our borders to achieve Free Trade. Send the archtects back to their drawing board sans the Socialist element this time, and draft a new treaty that makes some sense.
“archtects” That would be “architects”. Sorry ‘bout that.
I'm only going on their behavior and what they say, of course, and their desired policies, and what they fight for in the courts. If I didn't know any better, I'd really believe that George Bush had a lot more people to represent and work for than just Americans, and I'd think that President Bush was towing the line of more than one "Constitution".
Mere coincidence, I'm sure.
Tony Snow never met an illegal alien he didn’t like, so no surprise he’s a fan of Mexican trucks.
Maybe he thinks American truckers make over $160,000 a year and can afford the price competition from Mexican drivers. Isn’t Snow quitting his job because he can’t get by on a meager $160,000?
You need to add “quisling” to your tag line.
Either there are some pix of GWB in compromising positions and/or follow the money...
Also lets never forget that national politics will NEVER be the same since the Klintoons obtained those F.B.I. files and you know they made copies of all those files before they mysteriously showed up. Those copies of F.B.I. files gave the Klintoons what I call a “J.Edgar Hoover” insurance policy for themselves and their minions. Ever wonder why Fat Sandy Burglar got a sweetheart deal and he and none of the Klintoon flunkies & the Klintoons themselves have never spent one day behind bars. While Scooter Libby got hammered for essentially fogetting who he said what to when...all the while the special prosecutor Fitzgerald knew the first day of the investigation who "leaked" Valerie Plame's position as nothing more than a desk jockey at C.I.A.
“Honey, I knew those copies of F.B.I. files would come in handy.”
H Klintoon
I hope that the DOT will require the Mexican truckers to follow the exact same regs that our truckers have to follow, carry the same or higher insurance that ours have to carry, that their trucks meet or exceed the same safety and equipment standards ours have to meet and that their drivers are licensed to the same or higher standards that ours have to be licensed to.
Note that none of those things have anything to do with smuggling illegal aliens, drugs or, God forbid, terrorists into the country. Have we given up on drugs, illegals and terrorists altogether? Apparently.
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