[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 133 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 133
To promote economic partnership and cooperation between the United
States and Mexico.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 3, 2019
Mr. Cuellar (for himself, Mr. McCaul, and Mr. Gonzalez of Texas)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To promote economic partnership and cooperation between the United
States and Mexico.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``United States-Mexico Economic
Partnership Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The United States and Mexico have benefitted from a
bilateral, mutually beneficial partnership focused on advancing
the economic interests of both countries.
(2) In 2013, Mexico adopted major energy reforms that
opened its energy sector to private investment, increasing
energy cooperation between Mexico and the United States and
opening new opportunities for United States energy engagement.
(3) On January 18, 2018, the Principal Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Educational and Cultural Affairs at the
Department of State stated, ``Our exchange programs build
enduring relationships and networks to advance U.S. national
interests and foreign policy goals . . . The role of our
exchanges . . . in advancing U.S. national security and
economic interests enjoys broad bipartisan support from
Congress and other stakeholders, and provides a strong return
on investment.''.
(4) According to the Institute of International Education,
in the 2015-2016 academic year, more than 56,000 United States
students studied in other countries in the Western Hemisphere
region while more than 84,000 non-United States students from
the region studied in the United States, but only 5,000 of
those United States students studied in Mexico and only 16,000
of those non-United States students were from Mexico.
(5) In March 2011, the United States launched the 100,000
Strong in the Americas Initiative, which seeks to increase
educational exchanges between the United States and other
countries in the Western Hemisphere region so that 100,000
United States students are studying in other countries in the
Western Hemisphere region and 100,000 non-United States
students from the region are studying in the United States per
year by 2020.
(6) In January 2014, the United States established the
100,000 Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund, which seeks to
realize the goals of the 100,000 Strong in the Americas
Initiative by facilitating a public-private partnership between
the Department of State and nongovernmental organizations,
corporations, and universities in the United States and other
countries of the Western Hemisphere region.
(7) To date, the 100,000 Strong in the Americas Innovation
Fund has awarded more than 100 grants to more than 250 higher
education institutions from 25 countries in the Western
Hemisphere region, and has raised $9,000,000 in investments, 75
percent of which was from corporations, foundations, and
regional governments.
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States--
(1) to continue deepening economic cooperation between the
United States and Mexico; and
(2) to seek to prioritize and expand educational and
professional exchange programs with Mexico, including through
the framework of the 100,000 Strong in the Americas Initiative.
SEC. 4. STRATEGY TO PRIORITIZE AND EXPAND EDUCATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL
EXCHANGE PROGRAMS WITH MEXICO.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of State shall develop a strategy to
carry out the policy described in section 3, to include prioritizing
and expanding educational and professional exchange programs with
Mexico through the framework of the 100,000 Strong in the Americas
Initiative.
(b) Elements.--The strategy required under subsection (a) shall--
(1) encourage more academic exchanges between the United
States and Mexico at the secondary, post-secondary, and post-
graduate levels, especially with communities and through
academic institutions in the covered United States-Mexico
border region;
(2) encourage United States and Mexican academic
institutions and businesses to collaborate to assist
prospective and developing entrepreneurs in strengthening their
business skills and promoting cooperation and joint business
initiatives across the United States and Mexico, with a focus
on initiatives in the covered United States-Mexico border
region;
(3) promote energy infrastructure coordination and
cooperation through support of vocational-level education,
internships, and exchanges between the United States and
Mexico, particularly in the region in which the Eagle Ford
Shale is located and in proximity to such region; and
(4) assess the feasibility of fostering partnerships
between universities in the United States and medical school
and nursing programs in Mexico to ensure that medical school
and nursing programs in Mexico have comparable accreditation
standards as medical school and nursing programs in the United
States by the Accreditation and Standards in Foreign Medical
Education, in addition to the Accreditation Commission For
Education in Nursing, so that medical students can pass medical
licensing board exams, and nursing students can pass nursing
licensing exams, in the United States.
(c) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to Congress
a report on the strategy required under subsection (a).
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) 100,000 strong in the americas initiative.--The term
``100,000 Strong in the Americas Initiative'' means the
initiative established in March 2011 by the United States
Government to increase educational exchanges in the Western
Hemisphere.
(2) Covered united states-mexico border region.--The term
``covered United States-Mexico border region'' means those
portions of the United States and Mexico that are within 100
kilometers of the international boundary between those
countries.
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