Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association
1 NW OOIDA Drive, Grain Valley, MO  64029    
Web site: www.ooida.com

Contact: Norita Taylor, norita_taylor@ooida.com 
Headquarters: (800) 444-5791

(Grain Valley, Mo. -  Dec. 26, 2007) – The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) expressed appreciation that President Bush signed the appropriations bill today. It included language to stop funding to the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) pilot program to allow Mexico-based motor carriers into the United States.

“We want to send a very big thanks to our association members for their participation in keeping the amendment in the bill,” said OOIDA Executive Vice President Todd Spencer. “We also thank Congress for voting on numerous occasions in favor of the safety and security of our nation’s highways.”

However, quite likely before the ink on the president’s signature had even dried, this administration let it be known it would not comply with the directive of Congress on trucks from Mexico.

“Apparently there is no need for representation in Washington, DC, as long as we have a rogue administration driven by global economic interest in profits,” added Spencer.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is the national trade association representing the interests of small-business trucking professionals and professional truck drivers. The Association currently has more 159,000 members nationwide. OOIDA was established in 1973 and is headquartered in the greater Kansas City, Mo. area.