[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 143 (Wednesday, September 10, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1752-E1753]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              BARRING ACCESS OF LONG-HAUL MEXICAN TRUCKERS

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. CANDICE S. MILLER

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, September 9, 2008

  Mrs. MILLER of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of 
this legislation, which will put a definite end to this Mexican truck 
pilot program. Quite frankly, Mr. Speaker, this program never should 
have begun in the first place.
  Before coming to Congress, I served for 8 years as the Michigan 
Secretary of State, with a principal responsibility as the chief motor 
vehicle administrator, and I was also the Chairman of the Traffic 
Safety Commission. I was responsible for all the licensing in the 
State, including of commercial drivers and hazardous material 
endorsements. Given my background I had immediate concerns about how 
the Department of Transportation's pilot program might compromise the 
safety of our roads.
  In Mexico, licensing requirements are very poor and fraud in their 
system runs rampant. In fact, the Transportation and Infrastructure 
Committee heard in testimony from the Department of Transportation's 
Inspector General that 1 in 5 Mexican driving records contained an 
error of some kind. If we had a 20 percent error rate in the United 
States, we would consider it a crisis.
  There are also concerns, about the insurance provisions of this 
program. American trucks must carry expensive insurance policies in the 
event they are in an accident. What happens if a Mexican truck has an 
accident somewhere in the U.S.? Good luck to the victims of that 
accident who will try to collect on damages from a company down in 
Mexico.
  Mexican drivers are allowed to work far longer hours than American 
workers, resulting in widespread drug use in the profession. Presently, 
there is no system under which secure testing could take place so to 
ensure that the drivers coming into our country are drug free.

[[Page E1753]]

  In response to these concerns, the Congress passed language in the 
Iraq War supplemental requiring the Department of Transportation to 
only conduct a pilot program under certain conditions. Subsequently, 
the House, by a vote of 411-3, the Safe American Roads Act, which 
placed additional restrictions on these Mexican trucks coming into the 
country.
  Unfortunately, the Department of Transportation has not taken the 
hint and continues to promote this program without addressing the 
public's safety concerns about this program.
  Hopefully, this legislation will make it clear that Congress does not 
want this program to continue and that it should be terminated.

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