I-27 Numbering Act of 2023

Floor Speech

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Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I want to thank Senator Cruz for his leadership on this legislation, which I am, of course, proud to cosponsor. We represent a booming State. We represent in excess of 30 million people, and because of geopolitical shifts of manufacturing from China back to near shore or places like Mexico, thanks to the USMCA--the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement--we are mutually dependent with Mexico and Canada for trade, which creates millions of jobs right here in America, and principally in Texas.

The first time I went to Lubbock, TX, when I ran for statewide office, a former Congressman, Randy Neugebauer, before he was a Member of Congress, said: There are three things you need to remember about Lubbock, TX: cotton, Texas Tech University, and ports to plains. It was that important back then, and it is even more important today.

So the ports-to-plains system, as Senator Cruz pointed out, is a 963- mile transportation corridor. And building on the success we had in passing a bill to designate the Ports-to-Plains Corridor in Texas and New Mexico as an interstate, this I-27 Numbering Act does exactly that.

I look forward to seeing the Ports-to-Plains Corridor fuel more trade, more jobs, more energy security, and agricultural production for years to come.

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