DOT 110-07
Contact: Brian Turmail, Tel.: (202) 366-4570
Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Secretary Peters Calls on Congress to Let Cross Border Truck Demonstration Proceed

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters today joined with U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez and Mexican Transportation Secretary Luis Tellez in calling on Congress to reconsider its pending prohibition and let the cross border trucking demonstration program between the two nations proceed.

“With the change of just a few words, Congress can show that we can trade with the world, keep our highways safe, and our companies competitive at the same time,” Secretary Peters said.

In September, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s began a cross-border trucking demonstration project that will allow up to 100 U.S. trucking companies to operate in Mexico and up to 100 Mexican trucking companies to operate beyond commercial zones in the United States. The future of the program is in jeopardy due to pending legislation that would cut off federal funds for the demonstration.

“We want to demonstrate to Congress that tough safety standards and rigorous inspections work and that trucks participating in this program will have the same features, the same upkeep, and the same commitment to safety that any U.S. truck has,” Secretary Peters said.

The Secretary demonstrated the point by inviting a Maryland State Trooper to conduct a comprehensive safety inspection of two trucks participating in the cross-border trucking demonstration, one a U.S. truck, and the other the first Mexican truck to make a U.S. delivery as part of the demonstration. The trucks are virtually identical, Peters said, because both trucks must meet the same strict U.S. safety standards.

Further, Secretary Peters said, Congress has spent $500 million since 1994 to prepare for the start of cross border trucking, funding hundreds of highly-trained inspectors, dozens of state-of-the art facilities, and rigorous new requirements to ensure every truck, every company, and every driver from Mexico that participates in this program meets every U.S. safety standard without exceptions.

“I ask Congress to listen to the facts about the safety of this program, not the fiction being spread by a few, and to continue giving U.S. truck drivers the chance to compete in Mexico and U.S. consumers the opportunity to save,” Secretary Peters said.

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Remarks can be found at http://www.dot.gov/affairs/peters101707.htm