Texas Members Introduce Bill to Improve Border Infrastructure

Press Release

Congressman Will Hurd (R-TX), working with Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-TX), announced today the introduction of legislation which will give states more flexibility in how they use federal transportation funds, allowing them to invest more into border infrastructure.

"International trade and commerce is the life-blood for many cities and small towns in my district," said Hurd, who represents the 23rd Congressional District of Texas, which has more than 820 miles of international border. "Making it easier to safely move goods and services across the Texas-Mexico border will be good for both sides. Putting resources back into the infrastructure that facilitates that movement of goods is a longtime coming and I'm proud to support it."

"This is an important bill, one that will undoubtedly benefit Laredo and The Rio Grande Valley; as well as border communities across the country. My home town of Laredo is host to the nation's largest inland port, which services over 12,000 daily commercial truck crossings and 1,500 daily rail crossings. It is imperative that the transportation infrastructure around our nation's ports and trade centers, such as the Port of Laredo, are in peak condition to insure our economy keeps moving forward," Cuellar said.

Senator Cornyn worked to include similar language in H.R. 22, the long-term highway bill currently pending before the Senate.

"As the top exporting state in the nation, Texas relies on quality infrastructure along its southern border to help transport more than $100 billion in exported Texas goods to Mexico each year and support hundreds of thousands of Texas jobs. Allowing border states like Texas more flexibility in the long-term planning of border projects will benefit workers and consumers in our state and across the country," said Sen. Cornyn.

The legislation is receiving support from officials and stakeholders on the border, who understand the importance of having secure and stable routes across the border.

"I applaud Congressman Hurd for introducing legislation that would help bring additional funds to border communities like El Paso," said Oscar Leeser, Mayor of El Paso. "Since taking office, I have advocated for increased funding for bridge infrastructure to help with economic development, and today's bill would bring additional resources to the US-Mexico border region to help execute important projects for the El Paso region."

"Border wait times at our international land ports of entry are having serious negative impacts to our country's economy. We are thankful for introduction of this legislation and the leadership demonstrated by U.S. Senators Boxer and Cornyn as well as Congressmen Hurd and Cuellar on this issue of vital economic importance. This legislation will provide funds to our border states for needed infrastructure expansion and freight mobility projects located at our international borders," stated Jesse J. Hereford, Chairman of the Border Trade Alliance.

H.R. 3181 will create a Coordinated Border Infrastructure (CBI) Reserve Fund creating an explicit avenue through which border States like Texas can reserve up to 5% of statewide Surface Transportation Funds for qualified border infrastructure purposes. This legislation allows stakeholders and border communities to advocate for border infrastructure and provides funding certainty.

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