National CALL-TO-ACTION

JohnO · Sep 13, 2006

I copied this from e-mail OOIDA sent today.
I truly hope all call their US Senators and asking them to support Talent/Pryor amendment to the port security bill.

Here is link to get each state's US Senator name and phone number
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

I called both Senators from NJ and they are in support of the amendment.

National CALL-TO-ACTION

Over the next few days, the U.S. Senate will be debating a port security/homeland security bill. We have worked with Senator Jim Talent (Republican - Missouri) and Senator Mark Pryor (Democrat - Arkansas) to create an amendment that will go a long ways towards addressing our concerns with foreign truck drivers operating on U.S. roadways.

The Talent/Pryor amendment will:

- Force FMCSA to create a roadside inspection process for verifying whether a foreign trucker is operating legally here in the U.S.

- Force the Department of Homeland Security to provide federal, state and local cops with directions on what laws they must be enforcing on foreign trucks and foreign truckers operating within U.S. borders.

- Force FMCSA to verify a person's citizenship or legal status in the U.S. before issuing them a CDL.

- Force FMCSA to put anti-fraud measures in place to ensure that DMV employees or third party testers are not taking bribes from people who would not be able to obtain a CDL legally.

The amendment will come up for debate and vote in the Senate late today or tomorrow.

Your Senators need to hear from you as soon as possible! They must show their support for the American trucker by voting in favor of the Talent/Pryor amendment!

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MESSAGE:
"Hello, this is ______ from YOUR TOWN, YOUR STATE. It is extremely important that Senator _____ votes in support of the Talent/Pryor amendment to the port security bill. "
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Just call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 to reach your Senators' offices in Washington. If you are not sure who your 2 Senators are, the switch boards operators will assist you.

You may also phone the OOIDA Membership Department and they'll look up your Senators and their phone numbers for you. The toll-free number is 1-800-444-5791.

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If you have any questions, please call the Association at 1-800-444-5791.

TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE OUR VOICES HEARD.
TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE CAPITOL HILL TAKE NOTICE.
TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE LIFE BETTER FOR TRUCKERS THROUGHOUT AMERICA.

greg334 · Sep 13, 2006

John,
Thanks, I did my part just now.

I want to point out my opinion that OOIDA can not do it without the voters, we have the real power!

Broompilot · Sep 13, 2006

There I did John, thanks for the update. Now if at all possible think we could put how each Member voted by not district but by Yes or No.

This vote as I stated to both members will decide how I vote for them as THIS IS MY LIVELYHOOD. Being in Texas last week you should see some of these trucks how they pass through the border is beyond me. The truck I saw was traveling off interstate route. Must have been a 30 year old KW cab over JUNK.

Prarysun · Sep 13, 2006

Got the same email and did my part. I am for the amendment and got the offices of both NY senators. I was a little bothered by the quick ans from both senatorial offices, they both said "okay thanks we'll tell, him/her. I just hope they really get the message. Good Job everyone who acts on this!

Broompilot · Sep 13, 2006

This needs to stay at the top, we all need to plese act on this its to easy with all the info supplied here not to.

JohnO · Sep 14, 2006

I just got off the phone with Senator Talent's Office and Senate Amendment #4959 that he and Senator Pryor have sponsored has not as yet come to the floor for a vote.

So there is still time to call your Senators

Here is link to find your Senator's name and phone number.

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Get out early and vote often...LOL

greg334 · Sep 14, 2006

>Get out early and vote often...LOL

Does this mean we should follow Chicago's voting pratices?:+

JohnO · Sep 14, 2006

From what I have been reading the amendedment #4959 is still alive and was modified yesterday see below.

"AMENDMENT NO. 4959 , AS MODIFIED

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

SEC. __. TRUCKING SECURITY.

(a) Legal Status Verification for Licensed United States Commercial Drivers.--Not later than 12 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation, in cooperation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall issue regulations to implement the recommendations contained in the memorandum of the Inspector General of the Department of Transportation issued on June 4, 2004 (Control No. 2004-054).

(b) Commercial Driver's License Anti-Fraud Programs.--Not later than 12 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Transportation, in conjunction with the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, shall issue a regulation to implement the recommendations contained in the Report on Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Oversight of the Commercial Driver's License Program (MH-2006-037).

(c) Verification of Commercial Motor Vehicle Traffic.--

(1) GUIDELINES.--Not later than 12 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall draft guidelines for Federal, State, and local law enforcement officials, including motor carrier safety enforcement personnel, to improve compliance with Federal immigration and customs laws applicable to all commercial motor vehicles and commercial motor vehicle operators engaged in cross-border traffic.

(2) VERIFICATION.--Not later than 12 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration shall modify the final rule regarding the enforcement of operating authority (Docket No. FMCSA-2002-13015) to establish a system or process by which a carrier's operating authority can be verified during a roadside inspection."

cheri1122 · Sep 14, 2006

Thanks, John - this is an important issue - I just delivered a load to a freight forwarder in Laredo a few days ago, & was told by dispatch that there are no loads coming out of Laredo. I have to wonder if that's because the freight coming from Mexico isn't being taken to a forwarder, but driven to delivery by Mexican trucks & drivers?
I will contact my representatives tomorrow.

Night_Runner36 · Sep 16, 2006

thanks John I did My part and that maybe why Iam still in Tx like cherri is but then it is the weekend and it is slow at times but if nothing by Monday late I'm DHing out of Tx east wards

JohnO · Sep 18, 2006

Here is the discussion on the admendment# 4959 that passed along with the port security bill last Thursday.

Thank you to all who called their US Senators.

Here is link for the entire discussion by Senate. Talk about being long winded...lol

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?r109:15:./temp/~r109YWIOzW::

AMENDMENT NO. 4959

Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I thank the managers of this legislation. They have done a fantastic job in getting us to where we are today. Also, I thank Senator Talent of Missouri, who has been my cosponsor on the amendment I wish to visit with you about, very briefly, today.

Port Security remains a major vulnerability for this country, and tied to port security is trucking security.

The 9/11 Commission identified foreign trucking entities entering the United States as a top homeland security concern. The DOT inspector general has recommended that various security enhancements to the trucking

[Page: S9584] GPO's PDFsecurity provisions in this bill be made. This goes back to 2004, but they have largely been ignored since that time.
If you look at the reality of the situation in which we find ourselves today, we have NAFTA, where NAFTA allows foreign trucks to come into the United States within 25 miles of the U.S. border. They can pass between Mexico and Canada. But what we have found in reality is that, although most are playing by the rules, and that is good, there are some truckdrivers and trucking companies violating the provisions of U.S. law by delivering goods and picking up goods far outside the scope of where they are supposed to do it.

Trucking is very important to this country. It may not be very exciting to some people, but it is very important to this country because 70 percent of our Nation's cargo is carried by truck.

It is also important to homeland security because trucks have been used in terrorist attacks in years past. What Senator Talent and I are trying to do with our amendment--and the managers have graciously agreed to accept it in the managers' package--is to direct the Department of Transportation and the Department of Homeland Security to first verify legal status of all licensed commercial truck drivers operating in the United States. Right now there are about 11 million of those, and there are about 40,000 new ones every month.

First, we have to verify legal status.

Second, we eliminate commercial driver's license fraud. Of course, we know that it is not perfect. We will probably not eliminate every single incident of that, but we are going to make a very serious stab at eliminating as much as possible.

Third--this is very important--we give State governments and local law enforcement uniform guidelines and tools for enforcing immigration violations by truckers who are operating beyond the scope of their authority.

This is something that we have seen in Arkansas--I am sure that Senator Talent has seen it in Missouri--and all around the country. People on the ground down in the trenches, local law enforcement--in our case, it is the highway police--don't have any clear direction on what they can do if they find someone who is driving illegally under these circumstances.

We do all this and give them 1 year to comply with this amendment.

We are basically taking areas that have been identified by the 9/11 Commission or by the DOT inspector general, and we are holding DOT's and DHS's feet to the fire to make sure they do the right thing when it comes to immigration and homeland security.

It is a win-win-win across the board. It is good for the United States economy, it is good for our trucking industry, and it is good for United States security and homeland security. It will reward the good guys and punish the bad guys.

greg334 · Sep 18, 2006

John
Just to add to this, I picked up a Dallas paper Sunday and on the front it had an article about the killer truck drivers of Texas. In the article it profiled one accident that was caused by an invader.

I would recommend everyone to read it.

http://tinyurl.com/hseok