The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (“FMCSA”) has announced that it will hold two public sessions of its Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee (“MCSAC”). The purpose of the MCSAC meetings is to assist the FMCSA in developing and implementing a new cross-border trucking program between the United States and Mexico. The first of the MCSAC meetings will be held on Monday, May 18, 2009, from 10-11 AM (EDT), and will include a discussion between FMCSA management and the MCSAC committee on setting up a new cross border program. The meeting will be held via conference call.  The second of the public meetings will be a face-to-face session allowing more active public participation. It will be held May 20, 2009, from 1 - 4 pm (EDT) at the U.S. Department of Transportation, Media Center, West Building, Ground Floor, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E., Washington, D.C. 20590.  You must register with FMCSA to participate in or attend either meeting.

 

If you are interested in the cross-border trucking issue, it is urgent that you attend or be represented at one or both of these meetings.  Forces opposing cross-border trucking between the U.S. and Mexico will be using MSCAC as a forum to pressure the Advisory Committee and the Administration into maintaining the current prohibition against opening the border so as to protect their parochial interests and further their anti-Mexican sentiments.

 

For more information concerning the meetings or to arrange for one of our D.C. attorneys to represent your company at these meetings, please contact Ken Siegel at (202) 742-8602 or via e-mail at Kenneth.siegel@strasburger.com.

 

*Editor’s Note: Ken Siegel is Of Counsel with Strasburger’s office in Washington, DC.   For more information with respect to the cross-border trucking issue and Ken’s background on the matter, please see the article entitled “NAFTA TRUCKING: The Issues, the Facts and the Solution,” previously posted to the Strasburger Logistics Blog on April 24, 2009.