THE LATEST NEWS


Letter to the Editor
Air Quality in Kansas City
To be published in the The Wyandotte
West / The Piper Press
By Webmaster
5/03/07

I have been doing research on particulate matter pollution, and found that  our area(KC) and especially Wyandotte County is heavily polluted with "fine particles" and getting worse. This is confirmed by the American Lung  Association's annual report released a few days ago.

> >I believe this should be addressed by those wanting to make Kansas City the "hub" of NAFTA traffic from and to Mexico. It is projected that many more diesel trucks and trains will be running through our cities, if the KC SmartPort-along with the City of Kansas City and the Development Council achieve their goals.

> >Shouldn't someone tie together the rise in particulate matter in the KC Area, with the increase in truck and train traffic?

> >And shouldn't the media ask the question- how are air quality and public health going to be preserved or improved if deisel train and truck traffic increases to the level projected by the SmartPort plan?

> >MARC has a website that promotes air quality, but it does not seem to address particulate matter.

> >Particulate matter-especially from deisel engines-causes particles to lodge in air passageways and lungs, and is especially harmful to children or those with compromised respiratory systems.

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**MEXICAN TRUCK PROGRAM**

04/06/07
Rep. Nancy Boyda, ( D-KS) appeared on Lou Dobbs Tonight April 6, 2007 to discuss amnesty for illegal aliens and the Mexican Truck Pilot Program.

Here is the excerpt of her interview:

(Kitty Pilgrim was sitting in for Lou)
 Nearly 100 members of Congress are demanding Speaker Nancy Pelosi oppose any legislation that offers amnesty to illegal aliens. Only two Democrats signed the letter to the speaker, and one of them is Congresswoman Nancy Boyda. And she joins me now from Topeka, Kansas. And thank you very much for joining us.
REP. NANCY BOYDA (D), KANSAS: Thank you, Kitty.
PILGRIM: Why did you decide to take this action?
BOYDA: Well, I've gone to leadership, and I'm very proud to be a Democrat, and I've just said, listen, we're going to have to part company. This whole thing on amnesty and immigration is an important issue in my district, and I think in the entire country. And on a given day, I said I'm not sure you understand the amount of outrage that's going on in our country by not enforcing our laws and protecting our borders.
PILGRIM: All right. Congresswoman Boyda, I'd like to actually read a section of this for the benefit of our viewers. In this letter, you write, "Amnesty encourages more illegal immigration. It tells all those who have patiently waited abroad that they are foolish." And it goes on to say, "The United States has the most generous legal immigration system in the world. We should take the side of American workers and taxpayers, legal immigrants, and the rule of law." What is your chief concern -- yes, go ahead.
BOYDA: Let me also say, Kitty, there is -- we -- there was a letter that was kind of a companion letter that also went to President Bush saying, please, you know, the American people are asking you. And what we're asking for is that we provide security first, secure the borders, protect the boarders, and then find a way to enforce the laws. And when I talk to leadership, I just say there's no trust with the American people after what happened in 1986. Nobody believes that the enforcement is going to come, so show that you're going to have some enforcement. Show that you're going to protect the borders, and then we'll talk about how we take care of the rest of the issue. It's a huge, massive, massive problem.
PILGRIM: Now, this letter to President Bush talks about the employers, the crack-down on employers. We've seen a flurry of raids, very high-profile raids. The numbers not particularly large in -- you know, in contrast to how many illegal aliens are actually working in this country. What's your view of the efforts that are being made at this point?
BOYDA: Really, we need to start and say our employers need a system that they can even have to verify who's here legally or not legally. Right now that's so much of the problem. Employers don't know. There's no system. And you just have to ask was there ever intended to be a system? You know, they've had 20 years to put it together, and it's not together. Well, gee, maybe they never wanted a system. We've got to have a system that allows employers to be able to show who is here legally or not and then take the necessary action. And that's to me what I've told leadership I think that needs to be done first. And then again to continue working on protecting the border, as well. Show the American people you're serious. And then -- then let's start talking about how we -- how we integrate everybody into the country.
PILGRIM: Let me get your thoughts on another program. We've reported extensively on this broadcast about a pilot program to allow Mexican trucks to carry goods to all parts of the country. It's -- and last week you introduced the Save American Roads Act of 2007, which would limit the DOT's authority. What do you hope to achieve here?
BOYDA: Well, let me tell you how I started that. We actually introduced -- well, didn't introduce, but we had a Bill that was ready that said we need to just stop this whole thing with the trucks coming in from Mexico. And leadership was very good and said, "You know what? You're not going to get that through. That's part of NAFTA, and you're not going to renogotiate NAFTA as a freshman in Congress." And so they helped to put together what was a Bill that we thought was the toughest and would say if you're going to do this, then make sure that you're not rushing into it. Make sure that you've met all the 22 criteria that have to be done, and let's take our -- let's be very careful before we -- before we rush into this. So, you know, on a given day I think if we need to take a complete relook at NAFTA, that works for me. But until then we're going to make sure that this pilot program is not rushed into, and we're going to keep our American roads safe.
PILGRIM: You know, I find it intriguing your Bill is also going to require that the DOT allow public comment on this.
BOYDA: Yes.
PILGRIM: How might that public comment be incorporated into the final -- it's a lovely concept.
BOYDA: My guess is there's going to be a lot of public comment on this one. And I think, again, the American people want to be part of this conversation. So, you know, I think we've taken it -- it's a real good, practical piece of common sense legislation. What I've been told, again, is that this piece of legislation that I put together, again, with the help of some of the leadership, Oberstar and DeFazio, have said that we can get this all the way through and said we're going to fight to make sure that this Bill actually gets through. And that's important. We don't want just talk about it. People are sick and tired of talking about it. We want some action. We want to know that things are being taken care of.
PILGRIM: Congresswoman Nancy Boyda, thanks for being with us tonight.
BOYDA: Thank you, Kitty.

Read the full transcript here

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PRESS RELEASE
March 22, 2003
The Senate Appropriations Committee
included the following provision in its
proposed Fiscal 2007 Fiscal Supplemental
Legislation:

"During debate, the committee adopted an
amendment offered by Senator Murray and
Senator Feinstein. This amendment would
require the Bush Administration’s
proposed pilot project for cross-border
trucking with Mexico to be subject to an
open, transparent, process that will include
public comment, quantifiable measures of
success, and a requirement that safety be
enhanced. It will also prohibit Mexican trucks
from gaining access to US highways as
part of this pilot project until comparable
and simultaneous access is granted to
US truckers wishing to travel on Mexican
highways."

Read the entire press release at this link.
Or, you can find it at the site:
appropriations.senate.gov/


December, 2006
SPECIAL UPDATE
Highway Privatization
State by State


Read Teamsters' President
Hoffa's commentary 
on the NAFTA Superhighway

.Unsafe trucks
.Uninsured trucks
.Lax cargo security
.Lost American jobs
.Greed tops Safety and Security of Americans