Byron Dorgan: “Let me say that when I said this is not a legal issue, my point is whether it has been in the courts or not, we make the…”

“Let me say that when I said this is not a legal issue, my point is whether it has been in the courts or not, we make the law. We will determine tonight our destiny. That is our responsibility here in this Chamber. Because we write the law and make the law, we will determine what the safety standards will be for America's roads tonight. My colleague from Ohio says it very well, in my judgment. There is an old saying: Never buy something from somebody who is out of breath. There is a kind of breathless quality to what the Department of Transportation did last Thursday night. They get the IG report at 7:30; at 8:30 they announced, we made a decision: We got the report, studied it--we have some of the fastest lawyers in the world waiting on this--and away we go. Well, let me talk about what they missed. They missed the three key points with respect to the standards of safety, because the inspector general's report said there is no databank, no massive information with respect to accident reports, vehicle inspections, or driver violations in Mexico with Mexican trucking. The fact is they do not have equivalent enforcement in Mexico. That is just a fact.”