Madam Speaker,

The Department of Transportation has unveiled a pilot program that would permit poorly regulated Mexican traffic onto American highways. In its present form, the DOT proposal exhibits reckless disregard for America’s road safety – not to mention our border security and economic interests.

Under current law, trucks registered in Mexico can drive only within narrow border zones in the United States before their cargoes are transferred to an American vehicle. This system keeps not only protects U.S. highways from unsafe Mexican traffic, but it prevents drug smuggling and illegal immigration, and it safeguards American transportation jobs.

But the DOT intends to halt this sensible system. Under their pilot program, Mexico-domiciled trucks could penetrate far into the American heartland. The traditional safety standards required for vehicles on American roads – such as frequent safety inspections, limits on the number of hours driven in a day, drug testing, and criminal background checks for drivers hauling hazardous materials – either would not apply or would be weakly enforced.

If the DOT pilot program proceeds as planned, drivers in Kansas and across the United States will soon share their roads with unsafe Mexican trucks. The flood of foreign traffic will inevitably result in collisions, injuries, and even fatalities.

I introduced the bill now under consideration, the Safe American Roads Act of 2007, to rein in the Department of Transportation. My bill requires the cross-border pilot program to comply with 22 specific, strict safety criteria. It creates an independent review panel to monitor and evaluate the pilot program after its launch. And it provides that the program can be terminated at any point if the Secretary of Transportation does not comply with all provisions of my legislation.

By decisively approving the Safe American Roads Act, Congress can protect the millions of American families who drive our highways every day.

I yield back the balance of my time.