The Bush administration contends the United States is obligated under the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement to open up American roads to Mexican truckers, and that discontinuing the project would have repercussions for American trucks going south into Mexico. Passage of the House bill, it said, "would pose significant and immediate risks to U.S. interests," according to the Associated Press.

But the pilot project, which provides U.S. road access to as many as 500 trucks from 100 Mexican companies, is opposed by trucking, consumer and environmental groups who argue it would eliminate American jobs and that Mexican trucks are subject to less stringent safety regulations.

"I'm outraged that the Bush administration for political purposes would jeopardize the safety of the traveling public in the United States," Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., chairman of the House Transportation subcommittee on highways, was quoted as saying.

The 395-18 House vote far exceeded the two-thirds required to override a presidential veto. The bill would end administration's authority to continue the program without congressional approval. The Senate Appropriations Committee has attached similar language to a transportation spending bill, but it is unlikely to be enacted before President Bush leaves office.

The U.S. Department of Transportation last month said it intended to continue the pilot program for two more years, a move supported by the meat industry. 

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