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Congressmen, Teamsters Sound Alarm As Trucks Set To Cross US-Mexico Border

SAN DIEGO (CBS) — Union and trucking industry leaders joined a pair of Southland lawmakers on Wednesday to warn Americans about a potential economic fallout if Mexican trucks are allowed to travel unchecked across the border.

Reps. Bob Filner (D-San Diego), and Duncan D. Hunter (R-El Cajon) joined James Hoffa of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and Todd Spencer, the owner-operator of the Independent Drivers Association, to voice their concerns over the bilateral pilot project that is set to roll into the U.S. interior within days.

The bipartisan group argues that allowing Mexican trucking companies to travel into the U.S. to deliver the goods rather than transfer them will put American jobs and highway safety at risk.

Transportes Olympic was the first Mexican trucking company to be approved under the program last week as part of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Hunter has co-authored a bill sponsored by U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., that would require Congress to end the pilot program within three years and vote on the issue again, the Associated Press reported.

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