The Mexican Truck Demonstration Project had been underway less than one week when the Senate voted a 74-24 refusal to fund the project. The House refused to fund the project last March, in a 411-3 vote, citing considerable safety and security risks. Combined, these votes may well end the Bush Administration’s intention to give long-haul trucks from Mexico free access to American roads and highways.

Teamster General President Jim Hoffa praised the Senate for "slamming the door on the Bush administration's illegal, reckless plan to open our borders to trucks from Mexico."

"The American people have spoken, and Congress has spoken," Hoffa said. "Now it's time for the Bush administration to listen. We don't want to share our highways with dangerous trucks from Mexico."

Writing in WorldNetDaily (http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=57597), Dr. Jerome Corsi stated, "The vote, taken on the evening of the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, represented a strong sentiment in the Senate that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the DOT inspector general had failed to make the case (that) adequate inspection procedures were in place to insure Mexican trucks would meet U.S. safety standards."

Melissa DeLaney, spokeswoman for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association (FMCSA), indicated the administration may sidestep the funding issue. In an all-too-familiar display of contempt for the concerns and will of the American, and in defiance of Congress, DeLaney said, "We are committed to incremental steps in demonstrating the safety of the cross-border program," DeLaney told WND, "but there is no requirement to have a demonstration project."

Apparently hoping to convince Congress to back off its plan to kill the program, on October 17th Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters called a press conference. She then instructed a Maryland trooper to inspect a Mexican truck in front of DOT headquarters, claiming this action would "prove" that Mexican trucks are as safe as U.S. trucks.

This childish charade prompted Teamster boss James Hoffa to question, "Does the Bush administration think we're stupid? It's insulting to the intelligence of the American people to suggest that a staged truck inspection before the news media proves anything."

Indeed, serious and largely unanswered questions remain about the regulatory compliance of any of the Mexican trucks now traveling America’s heartland. The White House website carries no news update on the demonstration project, and DOT’s website has not been updated since September.

Last week, Dr. Corsi reported (http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?
ARTICLE_ID=58259) the FMCSA has outsourced Mexican truck safety to a trilateral trade association, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA), which he says is "operating as a non-governmental organization (formed in the early 1980s) to knit together the motor-vehicle agencies (in Mexico, Canada, and the United States). The CVSA’s goal, according to Dr. Corsi, is to "impose North American standards on all commercial motor vehicles operating (in the three countries)."

According to the organization’s website, following inspection by the CVSA, a Mexican trucker is supplied with "CVSA decals, (which) when affixed, shall remain valid for a period not to exceed three consecutive months. Vehicles displaying a valid CVSA decal generally will not be subject to re-inspection."

This means the Bush Administration is still not accepting direct responsibility and accountability for Mexican truckers’ compliance with U.S. background checks, or safety, operation and maintenance requirements.

NAFTA, through its Trucking Safety Act, rightly requires Mexican truckers to comply with the same rules and regulations as American truckers. This should prevent unqualified and inexperienced drivers from traveling American roads.

The Mexican Truck Demonstration Project still poses a very attractive opportunity for Mexican drug cartels to smuggle their illicit products throughout the nation. It’s nothing short of amazing that President Bush has committed somewhere in the neighborhood of $500 million - $1.4 billion to help Mexico fights its drug cartels, while pushing for largely unrestricted cross-border trucking – literally throwing our borders open to potential terrorists, drug smugglers, and unidentified cargo or contraband.

In the words of Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA), "This is unacceptable in today's security environment and further underscores the safety and security risks involved with providing cross-border truckers direct access to our roadways."

ACTION TO BE TAKEN

Now that both the House and Senate have voted, their respective bills go into conference where customarily differences are worked out to the satisfaction of both houses of Congress. Since the House and Senate language is virtually identical, little work will likely be required. What has not been accomplished, though, is for both houses to schedule and conduct this conference activity.

Therefore, please:

• In the Senate, contact Majority Leader Harry Reid, Ranking Minority Member Mitch McConnell.

• In the House, contact Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Minority Whip Trent Lott.

Thank them for their support on this very important national security issue. Ask them all to call this conference and complete their work, so the finished legislation can be sent to the President’s desk.

Phone calls would be the most effective means of contact. If you do not know your representatives’ phone numbers, you may call the Congressional Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. A switchboard operator will connect you directly with the House or Senate office you request. If you do not know the names of your representatives, just tell the switchboard operator where you live and she will direct your call.

If you prefer to email your representative, but do not know their email address, you may do so by going to this website - http://thomas.gov.

 

Senate Must Vote SOON on Internet Tax Ban – Make Your Voice Heard!

Congress first issued a temporary moratorium on Internet access taxes in 1998. The Internet Tax Freedom Act of 1998 (ITFA) bans state and municipal governments from imposing new taxes on Internet access, but nine states that had such taxes in place prior to the first passage of the ITFA are grandfathered in. These temporary bans were extended in 2001 and again in 2004. The current ban expires November 1.

There is considerable support for a permanent ban on any new tax on Internet access from Internet Service Providers and other special interest groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (http://www.uschamber.com/publications/weekly/update/
070925c.htm). Nearly 240 House members support a permanent ban, but were denied the opportunity to vote on a permanent ban; on Tuesday, October 16, they did the next best thing and approved a four-year extension. Members of the Senate are also being denied the opportunity to vote on a permanent ban. With the moratorium expiration looming so near, there is now no time to make the moratorium permanent.

Since it is the Democrats in control, preventing a permanent ban in both houses of Congress, it’s likely the Senate leadership will let the current moratorium expire without taking action. Former Congressman Jack Kemp, founder and chairman of Kemp Partners, identifies "Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Thomas R. Carper, D-Del., (as wanting) to permit the future taxation of Internet services"(http://www.freedomandprosperity.org/update/u08-10-07/
u08-10-07.shtml), while Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-HI) yanked the Internet Tax Freedom Extension Act from a list of bills scheduled to be amended and approved in late September.

Kemp continues, "Without permanence, state and local governments could soon view booming Internet access and commerce trends as an easy target for additional tax revenues to fund ever-expanding state and local spending. This potential is especially alarming, given the high level of taxes already imposed upon other communications services across the board, particularly wireless service" (http://www.townhall.com/columnists/JackKemp/2007/06/25/keep
_the_internet_tax-free).

Phil Kerpen of Americans for Prosperity agrees. "If the moratorium is allowed to expire, states will likely impose new taxes on Internet access fees, bit-taxes on downloads, and perhaps even e-mail taxes" (http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=22104). "There would be unlimited potential for taxation," Kerpen continued. "State and local governments may rush chaotically to enact Internet taxes if and when the ban expires, anticipating that it will eventually be re-imposed and hoping to qualify for grandfather treatment. That’s hardly an environment for rational policy development."

An extension of the Internet access tax ban clearly leaves the door open to possible taxes down the road, but it beats the alternative. Do not sit back and presume the Senate will vote to protect your interests. You must let your Senators know you want them to maintain the ban on any new internet access taxes.

ACTION TO TAKE

Contact your Senators. If you are unsure who your Senators are, this link will tell you www.thomas.gov.

Contact Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and Minority Whip Trent Lott (R-MS).

Tell them all the Senate MUST extend the current moratorium on new internet access taxes for at least four more years.

There is not enough time to mail your comments. E-mails are many times ignored, so I’d recommend you telephone. If you prefer, though, you can send an e-mail by going to each member's website at www.thomas.gov.

You may phone the United States Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121. A switchboard operator will connect you directly with the Senate office you request.

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