Byron Dorgan: “later this week and perhaps through the summer we will have a discussion in both the Senate and the House about a very…”

“later this week and perhaps through the summer we will have a discussion in both the Senate and the House about a very controversial issue. This administration and this Government will allow Mexican long-haul truckers to move across the border from Mexico into this country to drive their trucks on the highways and byways of this country unrestricted on the grounds that the North American Free Trade Agreement requires us to do so. However, after signing NAFTA the previous administration decided, because of serious safety concerns, not to allow the Mexican truckers to come in unrestricted on America's highways. At the moment, we allow them to cross the border and operate only in a zone within 20-miles from the Mexican border, on short-haul trucks. The Bush administration is now going to lift that restriction. That is going to cause some very serious controversy. I want to explain today why that is an important issue. A San Francisco Chronicle reporter named Robert Collier recently went on a 3-day trip with a long-haul trucker in Mexico. His article in the San Francisco Chronicle is quite interesting and quite revealing.”