[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6630 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

  2d Session
                                H. R. 6630


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 10, 2008

    Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
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 MOTOR CARRIER 
              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 of Transportation 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 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 carriers 
                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.

            Passed the House of Representatives September 9, 2008.

            Attest:

                                            LORRAINE C. MILLER,

                                                                 Clerk.