Legislation could delay cross-border program
Two pieces of legislation introduced in the U.S. House on March 29 could delay the Bush administration’s plan to lift a longstanding ban on Mexican truck travel throughout the United States.

U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., an opponent of the plan, introduced one of the bills, which would allow police to gain access to the same kind of criminal background information on Mexican truckers as they can pull up on American drivers.

For her part, U.S. Rep. Nancy Boyda, D-Kan., introduced a bill that would require the U.S. Department of Transportation to seek public comment on the pilot program before it is launched and would limit the program to one year.

Boyda’s bill has the support of U.S. Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., chair of the House Transportation Committee. Oberstar is not supporting Hunter’s bill, however, and has not said whether he will allow it a hearing in committee.

Hunter, a conservative running for president in 2008, said his bill would require Mexican truckers to meet the same standards as American truckers. One of the most important provisions, he said, would require the federal government to certify that when a Mexican trucker is pulled over, police could pull up the same kind of background information on the Mexican driver as they could on an American driver. Hunter said that should include criminal violations such as drug convictions.

He said the database used by Mexican authorities to verify a driver’s identification, driving record and criminal history should be equivalent to that used in the United States. Currently, U.S. law requires no criminal background check for U.S. truck drivers unless they want to be certified to haul hazardous materials.