Mary Peters, Carlos Gutierrez, Mexican official team up to promote Mexican trucks in U.S.

From this:

Bush administration officials [Department of Transportation Secretary Mary Peters and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez] held a news conference with Mexico's transportation secretary [Luis Tellez] yesterday to respond to criticism of a program allowing Mexican trucks on U.S. roads, but critics in Congress who helped pass counter-legislation are unmoved...

...By overwhelming margins, the Senate and the House adopted identical amendments into the Transportation/HUD Appropriations bill that would cut off federal funds for the truck project. The House passed the measure 411-3 while the Senate voted 75-23. The bill awaits consideration by a Joint Conference Committee...

The press conference included a sideshow: an inspection of a U.S. and a Mexican truck. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) - who opposes the trucks for union-related reasons - said about that:

"The information we need to ensure the safety of American drivers on American highways is not available... That includes vehicle inspection and drivers' records and accidents reports. None of that information is available. An 'inspection' of a hand-picked Mexican truck at a press conference doesn't change that."

Immigration2007b · Thu, 10/18/2007 - 06:55 · · Importance: 1