Senators return to the fray today in their slugfest over the North American Free Trade Agreement. Late last Friday advocates of tough rules-of-entry for Mexican truckers failed in a bid to cut off debate, setting the stage for a showdown

this week.
The 57-27 vote fell three votes short of the margin needed to stop the debate. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., said the vote only delays the inevitable. He expects that the Senate will approve the tough rules as part of its transportation appropriations bill.
But President Bush has vowed to veto any bill that contains such rules.
The immediate issue is truck safety. With the support of labor unions and safety advocates, a majority of senators are arguing that the Bush administration’s plan for opening the U.S. border to Mexican trucks does not ensure that the trucks will be safe.
On the other side, a significant minority reply that the tough safety rules are a smokescreen for long-standing opposition to NAFTA. It is clear that the underlying disagreement is less about DOT regulations than about free trade and the Hispanic vote, as well as the struggle for power in the newly Democratic Senate – particularly with respect to the role of labor unions.
Meanwhile, the Senate and the House are under growing pressure to resolve the issue quickly. Congressional leaders want to move quickly on the appropriations bills before members leave town for the August recess.