Is the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration trying to block voters from having any say in this issue?

"Senate votes to block funds for Mexican trucks; FMCSA says it will continue to work with Congress -- The Senate Tuesday voted to ban Mexican trucks from American roadways, but the FMCSA says it will continue to work with Congress 鈥渢hrough the conference process鈥?get the project funded."

The following is a big fat lie. There will be no new opportunities for American truckers after Mexican truckers take over except to look for new jobs on their own.
Melissa Delaney, director of communications for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, said, 鈥淲hat we are doing is continuing to work with Congress through the conference process as we believe strongly in the demonstration project's benefits, including safe highways, consumer savings and new opportunities for American truckers.鈥?br>
My own senators are wrong too. Quote.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who drafted a Republican alternative to Dorgan's amendment, said the attempt to block the trucks appeared to be about limiting competiti

http://www.thetrucker.com/News/Stories/2...

To put the quote into plain English, this vote has to do with an appropriations bill.

The House of Representatives and the Senate have passed different versions of this bill (apparently the one for the Department of Transportation). When the two houses pass different versions of a bill, there is typically a conference committee. This committee will be composed of members appointed by their respective house.

Since the role of the conference committee is to resolve disputes between the two houses, the FMCSA is hoping to get the funding reinstated by the conference committee.

The bottom line is that voters do not have any say in this issue until next November when their Senators and Representatives next come up for election other than expressing our opinion to them. Whomever is appointed to the conference committee will decide what funding, if any, is included in the bill that they report out. The House and Senate will then decide whether to approve that funding or send the bill back to conference. When an appropriations bill is passed, the President will decide whether to sign it or veto it.

Based on the above quote, it appears that the President will not sign an appropriations bill that omits the funding. I do not know whether or not Congress has the votes to override such a veto. If they don't, then you have the budgetary equivalent of a game of chicken. Is the President willing to shut down other transportation agencies (including the FAA) to get the funding for this program? If he is, will Congress let him shut down this part of the government or will they back down and give him what he wants so that the rest of the transportation agencies can function?