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NAFTA has been a fairly visible part of this election cycle, but few have publicly addressed one of the key concerns to those of us that live near the Mexican border. One part of NAFTA was to allow Mexican truckers and U.S. truckers to drive within each country. But until last year, that wasn't a reality. At that time, Mexican trucks were allowed to travel into the U.S. for twenty-five miles, and U.S. trucks weren't allowed to go into Mexico at all.
In September of last year, there was a pilot project to allow some Mexican trucks to travel into the U.S. (I previously wrote about this trucking accident danger last year.) The pilot project was set to expire. However, in August (after Congress recessed), the Bush administration unilaterally agreed to extend the trucking project by two years. Yesterday, Congress struck back. The House passed legislation 395-18 that would bar the U.S. Department of Transportation from granting authority to Mexican carriers to travel into the United States. President Bush has threatened to veto the trucking legislation if it passes the Senate, but it appears that there is enough support to override a veto.
So why do we care? As a border state, and in a town where Interstate 35, one of the major North/South arteries in the country, bisects the middle of downtown, this legislation has a huge impact on the safety of Austin's roadways.
It's also an interesting study in constitutional authority. Early last year, after the initiative began, Congress voted to kill funding for the program. Despite the law, the U.S. Transportation Secretary kept funding the program. A lawsuit was filed, and frankly, I haven't had time to see the results, if any.
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