[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6630 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6630

To prohibit the Secretary of Transportation from granting authority to 
  a motor carrier domiciled in Mexico to operate beyond United States 
municipalities and commercial zones on the United States-Mexico border 
                unless expressly authorized by Congress.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 29, 2008

   Mr. DeFazio (for himself, Mr. Oberstar, Mr. Mica, and Mr. Duncan) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                   Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To prohibit the Secretary of Transportation from granting authority to 
  a motor carrier domiciled in Mexico to operate beyond United States 
municipalities and commercial zones on the United States-Mexico border 
                unless expressly authorized by Congress.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. LIMITATION ON LONG-HAUL CROSS BORDER TRUCKING OPERATIONS.

    (a) Termination of Pilot Program.--Not later than September 6, 
2008, the Secretary of Transportation shall terminate the one-year 
cross border demonstration project the Secretary started on September 
6, 2007, as described in the Federal Register notices dated May 1, 2007 
(72 Fed. Reg. 23883), June 8, 2007 (72 Fed. Reg. 31877), and August 17, 
2007 (72 Fed. Reg. 46263).
    (b) Congressional Authorization Required.--Unless expressly 
authorized by Congress, the Secretary may not grant authority to a 
motor carrier domiciled in Mexico to operate beyond United States 
municipalities and commercial zones on the United States-Mexico border 
after September 6, 2008.

SEC. 2. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.

    Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act--
            (1) the Inspector General of the Department of 
        Transportation shall transmit to Congress the final report 
        required by section 6901(c) of the U.S. Troop Readiness, 
        Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability 
        Appropriations Act, 2007 (Public Law 110-28);
            (2) the independent review panel established by the 
        Secretary to monitor the demonstration project referred to in 
        section 1(a) shall transmit to Congress a report--
                    (A) evaluating the effects that the demonstration 
                project has had on motor carrier safety, including an 
                analysis of any accidents involving motor carriers 
                participating in the demonstration project; and
                    (B) containing recommendations for modifications to 
                the process of granting authority to a motor carrier 
                domiciled in Mexico to operate beyond United States 
                municipalities and commercial zones on the United 
                States-Mexico border and for monitoring the future 
                operations of such carriers in the United States, in 
                order to enhance safety;
            (3) the Secretary of Transportation shall transmit to 
        Congress a report detailing the implementation of and the 
        participation of motor carriers in the demonstration project 
        referred to in section 1(a), including--
                    (A) the number and names of United States and 
                Mexico domiciled motor carriers that participated in 
                the demonstration project and the number of vehicles 
                each motor carrier utilized in the demonstration 
                project;
                    (B) the number of border crossings by motor 
                carriers participating in the demonstration project, 
                including the number of crossings which resulted in a 
                motor carrier traveling beyond United States 
                municipalities and commercial zones on the United 
                States-Mexico border;
                    (C) an itemization of safety and operational 
                violations identified among motor carrier participating 
                in the demonstration project in pre-authorization 
                safety audits, compliance reviews, and roadside 
                inspections, including a review of the most frequent 
                types of violations;
                    (D) an analysis of the cost to the Federal 
                Government and State partners of implementing the 
                demonstration project, including administrative costs, 
                safety monitoring and enforcement costs, and the cost 
                of installing global positioning system units on 
                participating vehicles; and
                    (E) measures taken by the Secretary to terminate 
                the authority of motor carriers participating in the 
                demonstration project to operate beyond United States 
                municipalities and commercial zones on the United 
                States-Mexico border after September 6, 2008, and 
                ensure that such motor carriers cease long-haul 
                operations.
                                 <all>