By James P. Hoffa
Cross-posted from Huffington Post
Here’s yet another reason Americans should be furious at the Bush administration: spending taxpayer dollars without constitutional authority.
Late last year, lawmakers passed the omnibus budget. President Bush signed it into law on Dec. 26. The law prohibited spending on a Transportation Department pilot program to open the borders to trucks from Mexico.
The cross-border trucking program is a bad idea that my union fought for years. We believe trucks from Mexico are dangerous, and Congress overwhelmingly agrees with us. The Senate voted 75-23 on Sept. 11 to stop the program; in May, the House passed a similar measure by a vote of 411-3.
The ink was barely dry on the new law when Transportation Secretary Mary Peters announced she would ignore it. She announced that trucks from Mexico would continue to roll past taxpayer-funded inspectors at taxpayer-funded inspection stations.
The Teamsters don’t think Mary Peters should get away with such blatant lawlessness. That’s why we launched a campaign on Thursday to remove her from office.
Transportation Department employees who take the Metro to work will already have seen “Fire Mary Peters” posters. Soon you’ll see “Fire Mary Peters” bumper stickers and windshield signs in cars around town — and in Arizona, where Mary Peters hopes to run for governor in 2010.
We are sending letters to 250,000 Teamsters who drive trucks or live in border states. We’re asking them to get involved in our campaign to fire Mary Peters. Judging by the initial response, plenty of Teamsters will write to their elected representatives asking them to find Mary Peters in contempt of Congress.
In the meantime, there is a tool to stop out-of-control bureaucrats from spending taxpayer dollars they aren’t allowed to spend.
It’s called the Antideficiency Act. Congress passed the first version of it in 1870 after lawmakers got tired of bureaucrats burning through their yearly budget in a few months.
Today, the Antideficiency Act prohibits bureaucrats from spending public money or authorizing that spending “in excess of the amount available in the appropriation or fund.”
Last year, the General Accounting Office reported 26 agency violations of the Act.
The penalties typically aren’t severe. A commanding officer in the Navy was administratively disciplined after spending $19,000 on a banquet and gifts.
A National Labor Relations Board employee had to receive counseling after signing contracts for copier paper that weren’t contingent on the availability of funds. Soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq had to give back have their re-enlistment bonuses because they violated the Act.
But the Antideficiency Act does include stiff penalties that Congress can use to exercise its constitutional authority over the public purse - including two years in prison and fines up to $5,000.
Why would a Cabinet secretary risk fines and imprisonment? Peters’ argument is that it isn’t clear Congress authorized zero dollars to keep the border open to Mexican trucks.
But the September 11, 2007 Senate debate about the funding ban shows the intent of Congress was crystal clear.
North Dakota Democrat Byron Dorgan told his fellow senators that he was sponsoring the bill “to stop the Bush Administration’s pilot program that now allows Mexican trucks to haul freight throughout the United States.”
I’m not suggesting Mary Peters be sent to prison for two years for what appears to be a clear violation of the Antideficiency Act.
I am suggesting she be fired for it.
12 Comments so far
Leave a comment
Leave a comment
Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>
Let me get this straight:
Congress doesn’t want these trucks on our highways.
President Bush signed a law prohibiting this pilot program.
The public overwhelmingly does not want these unsafe trucks on our roads.
But Mary Peters has taken it upon herself to continue this?
If that’s the case, don’t just fire her. Have her arrested.
Comment by John C February 7, 2008 @ 3:04 pmHear, hear!
Congress voted to halt cross-border trucking. The Department of Transportation is required to stop it. Period.
Secretary Peters opting to (illegally) continue the program is the latest ploy by a Bush administration bureaucrat to subvert the will of our elected Congressional representatives.
We’ve seen this lack of respect for Congress way too many times with this administration. Mary Peters is Alberto Gonzales on wheels. She needs to go.
Comment by J. Sullivan February 7, 2008 @ 3:24 pmEnough, already! Get rid of the criminals!
Comment by Michele Bellini February 7, 2008 @ 5:00 pmI think we all need to calm down a bit. We have plenty of our own “80,000 # missles” on our highways. The pilot program was established and in place prior to this latest bill and the companies involved have all been investigated and inspected. Many of you are probably living with blinders on and are stereotipycally assuming the worst. The fact of the matter is that Mexico has some very good trucking companies with the latest equipment kept in good condition. I know, I’ve been there. I’d be more worried about some of our own trucking companies in the U.S.
Comment by Douglas Shirk February 7, 2008 @ 6:35 pmThe pilot program was illegally launched. It had not met the safety requirements that Congress had established years before. It was not even legally a “pilot program” because there was no public comment period, there are no measurable outcomes, there is not a measurable sample. This is a sham.
Yes, we have plenty of problem trucking companies in the U.S., which is another argument why U.S. inspectors should not be sent to Mexico to inspect Mexican trucks. There is plenty of work for them to be doing right here.
The companies have been “inspected?” Companies such as Trinity Industries de Mexico, which had 1,123 safety violations reported in the year before the pilot project began in September? Yes, that’s right. This was one of the companies the DOT approved for this program.
Give me a break.
I think it is you who needs to take the blinders off. When it comes to protecting Americans, this administration has done a lousy job. Sure it’s willing to spy on us and invade our privacy to keep terrorists out. But it has gutted regulatory agencies and allowed corporate terrorists to poison produce, put lead in our kids’ toys and now add unsafe Mexican trucks to our highways. Sometimes regulation is a good thing.
Yes, I’m sure there are plenty of good trucking companies in Mexico, too. And many of them do not want to see this pilot project go forward either. They are afraid this will do to the trucking industry what NAFTA did to Mexican farmers. Mary Peters is not doing anybody any favors here — other than the US manufacturers who moved their factories south and now want to pay pennies on the dollar for shipping too.
And the fact remains that Mexican trucks and drivers do not meet U.S. standards when it comes to safety, emissions, hours of service, training, etc. And until Mexico can meet its obligation to abide by our rules, they should not be allowed on our roads.
Why make a problem worse, by opening our roads to more unsafe trucks?
Comment by teamsterpower February 7, 2008 @ 6:57 pmI think not only should mary peters should be fired but also should have to spend a month or two riding in one of these trucks she is fighting to allow crossing the borders if she feels so safe
Comment by Bob February 7, 2008 @ 10:17 pmDoesn’t the employer have to fire an employee?
Comment by Klesb February 8, 2008 @ 5:56 pmSo, shouldn’t we be trying to fire the employer here?
GO FOR IT!
IT’S CALLED IMPEACHMENT!!!
i’m a owner operator and i think she should be fired as well.we in the us have to live to higher standards as driver why not her?if we brake the law we get fired or fined or lose our CDL’s.
Comment by stacy February 9, 2008 @ 12:51 amlaws were made for everyone to follow not just the general public.
If Mexico wants to have thier trucks use American highways let them follow the same laws as we do and pay the same fees. Yes she should be fired.
Comment by robert fortin February 9, 2008 @ 1:29 amfor anyone who claims the mexican trucks are as safe as u.s. trucks, i have one thing to say: trinity industries de mexico. it’s a mexican trucking company with 12 trucks. it was “audited” by u.s. inspectors before it was allowed in the program. turns out it had 75 out-of-service orders in the previous year, should have had 476 more under DOT’s own criteria and averaged 112 safety violations per truck. when that information became public it quietly withdrew from the program.
Comment by Lawrence Landrigan February 14, 2008 @ 6:32 pmI think Mary Peters should be fired, thrown in prison and the key thrown away. This should happen to anyone who sells our country and places Americans in jeopardy. I know some congress people who should be fired also for selling out this country and her people. FIRED MARY PETERS NOW
Sincerely,
Comment by patricia February 24, 2008 @ 12:29 pmPatricia
We are spreading the word to bikers - you know, the motorcyclists who are more than enthusiasts like Mary Peters who is a danger to herseld and others when she gets on two wheels. The dumb bitch caught her front tire on the rear of her husbands bike, crashed, and now wants to force helmets onto all motorcycle operators.
Comment by JanBOLT March 7, 2008 @ 5:02 amMany of you truckers ride on 2 wheels when you can. We are discussing how we can support your effort while also supporting our effort.
If you are looking for other ways in which she is acting with no regard when it comes to law, we have info for you.
The NHTSA is prevented by Congress from using taxpayer money to lobby the states for enactment of helmet laws.
On Valentines Day, 2008, this sweetheart who can kiss my ass, sent a proposal to Congress that would allow the NHTSA to use tax money to promote helmet use in all states, and wants to use funds set aside for motorcycle safety, awareness, and education programs to do it.
Leading up to this, on 9/11/07, the NTSB, which is not similarly prevented from lobbying, took up the lobbying efforts which Congress prevented the NHTSA from undertaking.
As a lifelong biker, please believe me that there is no suit and tie bureaucrat more concerned about my safety than me. As Americans, we should all have the right to decide such matters of extreme importance for ourselves. For Mary Peters to try and FORCE a helmet onto my head, I’d just as soon kick her in the teeth and go to jail for it than put up with that kind of encroachment on my liberties.
I am organizing the following protest action and will have some more choice words for Ms Peters:
PATRIOTS DAY RALLY, APRIL 19TH, WAKE COUNTY SPEEDWAY, RALEIGH, NC
Leave me a message at 919-342-0403 if you want to extend your coalition to include bikers. Thanks!