WASHINGTON IN BRIEF

Senator Urges Inquiry Into DOT Road Program

A senator wants Congress's investigative arm to determine whether the Transportation Department has broken the law by spending federal money on a program allowing Mexican trucks on U.S. roads.

Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.) called yesterday for the investigation by the Government Accountability Office, a few hours after Transportation Secretary Mary Peters warned of economic losses if Mexican trucks are prohibited from driving deep into the United States.

The North American Free Trade Agreement gave Mexican trucks greater access to U.S. roads beginning in 1995, but they are confined to about 25 miles beyond the border. There, imported goods are picked up by U.S. truck drivers.

A pilot program opened U.S. roads to only a few Mexican trucks beginning last September, but Dorgan and others say Congress prohibited spending money on the program last year.

Peters said Monday that the agency is not violating the law. The law prohibits using funds to establish the program, she said, but the money is being used on the existing program. The agency has made similar arguments in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, which is considering an appeal by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to stop the program.

Peters is scheduled to testify today about the program at a Senate committee hearing.

Aircraft 'Black Boxes' To Capture More Audio

Aircraft cockpit voice recorders must capture two hours of audio, instead of the 15 to 30 minutes collected now, to help in finding the causes of crashes and other accidents, the Federal Aviation Administration said. New rules for the "black boxes" also require independent backup power to allow continued recording for nine to 11 minutes if all aircraft power sources are lost, the FAA said.

Manufacturers and operators must put the new equipment on planes and helicopters with 10 or more seats. The rules affect aircraft built after March 7, 2010, with older models updated within two years after that.

Under the new requirements, flight data recorders have to retain 25 hours of information, the FAA said. Data retained must include the aircraft's primary flight-control movements and the pilots' movement of controls.

Bush Allows Funds For Kenya and Uganda

President Bush authorized the State Department to use up to $4.9 million of emergency refugee money for Kenya and Uganda.

The funds will go to the International Committee of the Red Cross and other aid groups, White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.

"These funds will address the humanitarian needs of increasing numbers of refugees, internally displaced persons, and victims of conflict in Kenya and Uganda," he said in an e-mailed statement.

More than 300,000 people have been forced to flee their homes since ethnic violence erupted in Kenya after a Dec. 27 disputed election. In addition, both Kenya and Uganda have been flooded with refugees fleeing the violence in the Darfur region in western Sudan.

-- From News Services