I will have to Lavoris my mouth after this, but, anyway, here goes....
Thank GOODNESS for DEMOCRATS (sometimes)!
Posted on 09/11/2007 5:09:04 PM PDT by ruination
WASHINGTON - The Senate voted Tuesday to ban Mexican trucks from U.S. roadways, rekindling a more than decade-old trade dispute with Mexico.
By a 74-24 vote, the Senate approved a proposal by Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., prohibiting the Transportation Department from spending money on a North American Free Trade Agreement pilot program giving Mexican trucks access to U.S. highways.
The proposal is part of a $106 billion transportation and housing spending bill that the Senate hopes to vote on later this week. The House approved a similar provision to Dorgan's in July as part of its version of the transportation spending bill.
Supporters of Dorgan's amendment argued the trucks are not yet proven safe. Opponents said the U.S. is applying tougher standards to Mexican trucks than to Canadian trucks and failing to live up to its NAFTA obligations.
Until last week, Mexican trucks were restricted to driving within a commercial border zone that stretched about 20 miles from the U.S.-Mexican boundary, 75 miles in Arizona. One truck has traveled deep into the U.S. interior as part of the pilot program.
Blocking the trucks would help Democrats curry favor with organized labor, an important ally for the 2008 presidential elections.
"Why the urgency? Why not stand up for the (truck) standards that we've created and developed in this country?" Dorgan asked.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who drafted a Republican alternative to Dorgan's amendment, said the attempt to block the trucks appeared to be about limiting competition and may amount to discrimination against Mexico.
"I would never allow an unsafe truck on our highways, particularly Texas highways," he said.
Under NAFTA, Mexico can seek retaliation against the U.S. for failing to adhere to the treaty's requirements, including retaining tariffs on goods that the treaty eliminates, said Sidney Weintraub, a professor emeritus at the University of Texas LBJ School of Public Affairs in Austin.
The trucking program allows up to 100 Mexican carriers to send their trucks on U.S. roadways for delivery and pickup of cargo. None can carry hazardous material or haul cargo between U.S. points.
So far, the Department of Transportation has granted a single Mexican carrier, Transportes Olympic, access to U.S. roads after a more than decade-long dispute over the NAFTA provision opening up the roadways.
One of the carrier's trucks crossed the border in Laredo, Texas last week and delivered its cargo in North Carolina on Monday and was expected to return to Mexico late this week after a stop in Decatur, Ala.
The transportation bill is S. 1789.
Goody
A rare moment of common sense erupts in the Senate!
Exactly...it’s the teamster’s...nothing more than support for the UNIONS.....
I don't know who changed it, but the "curry favor with organized labor" part was not there originally. The moderators here recently have been editorializing in the threads and titles (see the more recent Ron Paul threads), so maybe it's the same thing here? Just a guess. I don't really know.
I will have to Lavoris my mouth after this, but, anyway, here goes....
Thank GOODNESS for DEMOCRATS (sometimes)!
According to what I have read this free flow of truck traffic between Canada/USA/Mexico is part of a legal treaty between the countries - and therefore the law.
Therefore it had to have been agreed to by the Senate and signed by the President.
When did all this happen?? and who were the big players??
I know what you mean. We do our best to replace our workers with workers outside the nation, they watch as another segment of workers replaces our own and sends a good chunk of that money out of the nation. Just what do some people think supports our local econimies if not U.S. workers, who spend their earning HERE?
Thanks.
This a very good thing.
The “lets all make one happy American continent” people won’t like it.
But it’s a good day for the sovereignty of the United States.
Too bad.
Someone changed the title...
Well, looks like at least one mod wants to push an agenda then. That mod can kiss my a$$. DON’T FILTER THE NEWS!!!
Guess I'll just have to give that one to the dems....just wondering how many points the pubbys can spare?
Wonder who had to get out in Decatur?
“I would never allow an unsafe truck on our highways, particularly Texas highways,”
He’s lying.
As of Friday, there is still no way for me to verify the credentials, i.e. insurance, authority to operate, and safety histories. Nor is it possible, even, for a Mexican Carrier to certify a driver under 49 CFR Part 391.xx.
This whole mess is only to serve the interests of big, and I do mean BIG, business and the inevitable corruption that will follow.
Add this as a chapter in the book of...”How America Was Sold...With No Money Down”.
“But it’s a good day for the sovereignty of the United States.”
That’s a fact.
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