Hoffa Calls DOT Inspection Stunt "Insulting"

Transportation Department Pretending Cross-Border Trucking Program Is Viable

Transportation Secretary Mary Peters shows contempt for Americans’ intelligence with a truck inspection stunt planned in Washington, Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said on Wednesday.

Peters was scheduled to stage a news conference Wednesday afternoon to “prove” that trucks from Mexico are safe to carry freight in the U.S.

Hoffa said her effort to promote the viability of the Bush administration’s illegal cross-border trucking program is ridiculous, since Congress is expected to cast a final vote soon on a bill to block funding for it.

“Does the Bush administration think we’re stupid?” Hoffa said. “It’s insulting to the intelligence of the American people to suggest that a staged truck inspection before the news media proves anything.”

In recent weeks, Teamsters watched Transportation Department officials inspect trucks crossing the southern border while television cameras were rolling—then watched the inspections stop as soon as the cameras left.

The Department of Transportation (DOT) inspector general raised a number of concerns about safety oversight of trucks that cross the border. For example,

*Many Mexican driving records cannot be tracked. There was a failure rate of nearly 20 percent for Mexican commercial drivers’ licenses examined by the inspector general.

*DOT can only review the driving records of Mexican and U.S. citizens, so if someone were to fly to Mexico from Pakistan or Afghanistan the validity of their license couldn’t be ascertained.

*There are no certified laboratories in Mexico that test for drugs or alcohol.

*DOT isn’t able to inspect every truck every time it crosses the border.

“Surely someone who grew up in Arizona, as Mary Peters did, understands that Congress killed the program because it’s dangerous for American motorists,” Hoffa said.

In addition to fighting the program in Congress, the Teamsters are fighting it in the courts. Teamster arguments are due before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco on November 19.