March 11, 2008  

(Washington, D.C.) – Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said today that the latest inspector general report on the Bush administration’s reckless pilot program allowing unsafe Mexican trucks to travel freely in the United States provides even more ammunition to keep the border closed because of safety concerns.

The report says the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) hasn’t implemented a quality control measure promised to Congress. “Without this quality control measure, FMCSA does not have assurance that it has checked every Mexican truck and driver that is participating in the project when they cross the border into the United States,” the report said.

“This is another indictment of the program to open the border,” Hoffa said. “They’re not even pretending anymore that they’ll inspect every truck, every time it crosses the border. They’re just saying they will glance at a driver’s license and a safety decal—and now the inspector general reports there’s no assurances that’s even being done.”

The report will be discussed Tuesday afternoon at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing in which Transportation Secretary Mary Peters will be questioned about her decision to ignore Congress’s legal ban on funding the program.   

The report also validates one of the Teamsters Union’s key legal arguments that the program is illegal. It states that “no reliable statistical projections regarding safety attributes can be made at this point.”

The Teamsters have argued in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that a legal requirement of the program is that it include enough participants to yield statistically valid findings.

The Teamsters are awaiting the court’s decision.

“Do we need any more reasons to put the brakes on this program?” Hoffa said. “Congress cut funding, and the Bush administration can’t check all trucks and drivers. What more do we need to stop this dangerous experiment -- deaths on our highways? ”

Hoffa also praised Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., for launching an investigation into the Transportation Department’s illegal spending of taxpayers’ funds on the pilot program. Also signing the request were Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., and Reps. Jim Oberstar, D-Minn., and Peter DeFazio, D-Ore.

Peters ignored a law signed on Dec. 26 that cuts off funding for the pilot program to open the border to trucks from Mexico.

“I’ve been saying for weeks that this woman ought to be fired for breaking the law,” Hoffa said. “I’m delighted that Sen. Dorgan is taking steps to force her to obey the law and the U.S. Constitution.” 

Dorgan asked for an investigation into Peters’ potential violation of the Antideficiency Act. The law is used by Congress to enforce its constitutional power of the purse. It forbids federal officials from spending money that hasn’t been appropriated by Congress.

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.