Y 4.096/11100-4 INTERNATIONAL MOTOR CARRIER RELATIONS (100-9) CIS RECORD ONLY: HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON SURFACE TRANSPORTATION OF THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC WORKS AND TRANSPORTATION ONE HUNDREDTH CONGRESS For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Congressional Sales Office COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC WORKS AND TRANSPORTATION JAMES J. HOWARD, New Jersey, Chairman GLENN M. ANDERSON, California NICK JOE RAHALL II, West Virginia FOFO I.F. SUNIA, American Samoa JIM CHAPMAN, Texas H. MARTIN LANCASTER, North Carolina LOUISE MCINTOSH SLAUGHTER, New York JOHN LEWIS, Georgia PETER A. DEFAZIO, Oregon BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland BILL GRANT, Florida DAVID E. SKAGGS, Colorado JIMMY HAYES, Louisiana CARL C. PERKINS, Kentucky JOHN PAUL HAMMERSCHMIDT, Arkansas ARLAN STANGELAND, Minnesota WILLIAM F. CLINGER, JR., Pennsylvania E. CLAY SHAW, JR., Florida THOMAS E. PETRI, Wisconsin HELEN DELICH BENTLEY, Maryland DENNIS HASTERT, Illinois JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma CASS BALLENGER, North Carolina SUBCOMMITTEE ON SURFACE TRANSPORTATION GLENN M. ANDERSON, California, Chairman NICK JOE RAHALL II, West Virginia H. MARTIN LANCASTER, North Carolina BILL GRANT, Florida ROBERT A. ROE, New Jersey NORMAN Y. MINETA, California HENRY J. NOWAK, New York RON DE LUGO, Virgin Islands JAMES J. HOWARD, New Jersey, (Ex officio) BUD SHUSTER, Pennsylvania THOMAS E. PETRI, Wisconsin RON PACKARD, California SHERWOOD BOEHLERT, New York JIM LIGHTFOOT, Iowa FRED UPTON, Michigan JOHN PAUL HAMMERSCHMIDT, Arkansas (Ex officio) (II) CONTENTS TESTIMONY Page Banks, Samuel H., Assistant Commissioner, Office of Inspection and Control, 50 92 54 3 Beaman, James M., director of trade development, Port of Brownsville, TX, Bennett, B. Timothy, Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Mexico, Coleman, Hon. Ronald D., a Representative in Congress from Texas. Gradison, Hon. Heather, Chairman, Interstate Commerce Commission, accom- Miles, Rudolf, Jr., Miles Transportation, El Paso, TX. White, Robert L., secretary-treasurer, Truck Owner/Drivers Cooperative, Inc., 191 Banks, Samuel H., Assistant Commissioner of Inspection and Control, U.S. Beaman, James M., Member, Rio Grande Valley Trucking Coalition and Port Letter supplementing testimony Coleman, Hon. Ronald D., a Representative in Congress from Texas, H.R. 2689: a bill to clarify and augment certain provisions of the Motor Carrier Safety Act of 1984 regarding the certificate of registration procedures for Donohoe, Thomas J., president and chief executive officer, American Truck- Gradison, Hon. Heather J., Chairman, Interstate Commerce Commission: Chart: U.S./Mexico Trucking-Effects of Secs. 225 and 226 of Public Law Hammerschmidt, Hon. John Paul, a Representative in Congress from Arkan- Michie, Donald A., Ph.D., chairperson, Department of Marketing, the Univer- Miles, Rudy, Jr., president, The Miles Group, Inc., statement. Weeks, William E., executive vice president, Texas Citrus and Vegetable ADDITIONS TO THE RECORD American Bus Association, Norman R. Sherlock, president, letter National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, statement and Lowery, Hon. Bill, a Representative in Congress from California, statement..... Page 115 195 197 198 202 INTERNATIONAL MOTOR CARRIER RELATIONS BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND MEXICO AND REGULATORY EXEMPTIONS THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 1987 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON SURFACE TRANSPORTATION, COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC WORKS AND TRANSPORTATION, Washington, DC. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:42 a.m., in room 2167, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Glenn M. Anderson (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Mr. ANDERSON. The subcommittee will come to order. The subcommittee is meeting today to receive testimony on motor carrier issues related to commercial zones. As it happens, most of those appearing will be focusing on issues that are very important to me, and on which we have dedicated large amounts of time and energy these past few years. We will be examining, with our witnesses, the issue of Mexican trucking companies operating in this country, competing with domestic carriers, when U.S. carriers are not generally allowed to operate south of the border. We have twice attempted to address this matter legislatively. In 1982, we imposed a moratorium on the issuance of operating certificates to Mexican carriers of regulated commodities in this country. Then, because Mexican private carriers and those hauling exempt goods were still coming in and operating throughout the 48 States, we acted in 1984 to restrict such carriers to commercial zones, and then only if they applied for special operating certificates which could only be received upon meeting U.S. safety and insurance standards. Still we hear that these Mexican carriers are coming into the U.S. and seem to be operating at will outside of the commercial zones. This is a matter we will address today, and it is one on which Congressman Coleman has worked timelessly. The second issue is one dealing with a legal loophole that now allows thousands of trucks and truck drivers to operate exempt from Federal safety regulations. Trucks and drivers that would otherwise be covered by Federal safety laws and regulations, those in interstate commerce or carrying freight which originates in or is ultimately destined for another State, are presently exempted from Federal regulation if they are operating wholly within a designated commercial zone. The problem is greatest in commercial zones that straddle more than one State, such as Washington, DC, New York, Chicago, and (1) |