Owens Attends Canada-U.S. Inter-Parliamentary Group Annual Meeting Representing U.S. Congress
Press Release
Congressman Bill Owens joined a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators and Representatives appointed to represent the U.S. Congress at the annual meeting of the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group (IPG) in Ottawa, Canada this weekend.
This year the annual meeting included discussions on issues of bilateral interest including the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, border security and intelligence sharing, cross-border commerce and improving border infrastructure, the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, and Great Lakes-related topics.
Owens led the IPG's group discussion focusing on trade facilitation efforts including the Beyond the Border Action Plan and several trusted trade and traveler programs including NEXUS, Free and Secure Trade (FAST) and the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT), each of which strongly supports increased trade and jobs in our communities.
"Our relationship with Canada has already created hundreds of thousands of high-wage jobs in New York State and millions more throughout the U.S." said Congressman Owens. "The discussions that took place in Ottawa this weekend included efforts to streamline border services, encourage international investment and spur trade growth across our northern border."
U.S.-Canada trade supports an estimated 8 million U.S. jobs, 600,000 of which are in New York State. Canada is the primary foreign export destination for New York State products, worth over $14 billion. New York is also the top destination in the U.S. for Canadian tourists, who made more than 4.2 million visits to the State in 2012, spending more than $1.5 billion.
Owens serves as co-chair of the Northern Border Caucus and sits on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security. He continues to advocate $105 million in fiscal year 2015 appropriations funding for critical improvements to the Alexandria Bay Port of Entry facility. Delays at our nation's land ports cost approximately 26,000 jobs and $18 billion in lost output every year. These improvements to the Alexandria Bay facility would turn job and economic losses into gains.
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