From my perspective, it doesn'r really matter which party label they have any more - to paraphrase a line from "The American President", they're too busy trying to keep their job to actually do their job.
I'm also retired Navy enlisted. Sad to say, more and more often over the past few years, I've found myself asking the question - what was the point of all those years of service I gave, if they were simply going to turn the country into this godawful mess?
The way in which the EPA and CARB seem to be "targeting" the OTR industry at much the same time, with '07 emissions standards and the re-engine mandate, has me wondering if what one of the supervisors at work ventured a couple weeks ago holds water - that this is also tied into NAFTA.
When NAFTA was first enacted 13 years ago, the idea was that eventually OTR's from any of the 3 countries would be able to cross borders and conduct business without restriction anywhere. With Canada, that wasn't a problem - similar DOT, emissions, safety, and driver training requirements to ours.
Mexico was a different kettle of fish. Virtually nonexistent DOT, weight, emissions, safety, and driver training standards. And while they wanted unrestricted access to make deliveries anywhere in this country, the Mexican companies wanted their government to restrict US trucks from making deliveries in Mexico, claiming that would give US OTR companies an "unfair advantage" and that they couldn't compete with them.
Congress, for once doing a semblance of their job, enacted a provision putting a stop to this - it stated that once Mexican OTR's could meet standards equivalent to ours as far as the truck itself and driver training, they would revisit the idea of allowing them to make deliveries throughout the US - but until then , no dice.
Last year, 12 years down the road, the Mexican government and OTR's hadn't moved one iota toward meeting these requirements. But the current administration decided to start up a "pilot program" and start allowing a certain number of Mexican OTR's to make deliveries throughout the US - while at the same time the Mexican government is still preventing any US trucks from doing the same - the Mexican companies still complaining that would give US companies an "unfair advantage".
Last word I had, Congress was trying to enact a measure prohibiting any federal funds from being spent on this pilot program - in effect, stopping it dead in it's tracks - but no idea if it went thru.
Strange indeed, that at the same time US OTR's are being hit with the expenses of meeting '07 emissions, retrofitting older rigs, and $3/gallon diesel fuel - and eventually having to pass these costs on to their customers - that they would suddenly decide to start allowing Mexican OTR's - which don't have to incur the expense of added emissions equipment, safety requirements or driver training, nonexistent weight limits, driver pay that is peanuts compared to US pay scales, and cheaper fuel courtesy of the state-run oil industry - to start doing business in this country, while allowing the Mexican government to prohibit US companies from doing the same in Mexico.
As the ols saying goes, follow the money.
Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
