[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 144 (Thursday, October 6, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 6, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                  CAMINO REAL CORRIDOR AND COMMISSION

                                 ______


                         HON. RONALD D. COLEMAN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 6, 1994

  Mr. COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to announce that I am introducing 
legislation today to create the Camino Real Corridor and Commission. I 
realize that we are near the end of the legislative session, but I want 
to raise this important issue as we organize for the new Congress.
  While the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement will no 
doubt affect the entire Nation, perhaps no area will witness greater 
changes than the Southwestern region along the Mexican border. Not only 
will the area continue to experience the benefits of increasing 
international economic integration, but it will also be profoundly 
impacted by the large influx of traffic that is the necessary byproduct 
of expanding trade. The district which I represent, El Paso, TX, has an 
infrastructure system that will be among the hardest hit by the 
increasing levels of commerce between the United States and Mexico.
  A report prepared by the Center for the New West confirms that El 
Paso is one of the most important border crossings in the world. Over 
$12 billion in trade passes over the El Paso-Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua 
border each year. Eighteen percent of United States exports to and 25 
percent of United States imports from Mexico pass through this 
transborder metropolitan region. Furthermore, it is the busiest point 
of entry for commercial trucks. In light of the fact that the trade 
volume transported through this port of entry is projected to nearly 
double by the year 2000, and that the population of the El Paso area is 
one of the fastest-growing in the Nation, the highways and border 
infrastructure of this area warrant our particular attention.

  But we must bear in mind that El Paso is only one point on a trade 
route that extends from the Mexican State of Chihuahua into the 
interior portion of the United States. A natural trade corridor is 
emerging from the Mexican border State of Chihuahua to Denver through 
El Paso and New Mexico. The Mexican Government has already demonstrated 
its commitment to the region, with the construction of a new highway 
system that extends to the State of Chihuahua through several of 
Mexico's largest cities in the industrialized north--a highway over 600 
miles long. On the U.S. side, the emerging corridor bears great 
resemblance to the highway systems designated by section 1105c of the 
1991 Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act as ``corridors of 
national significance.'' Like those highway systems, the highway system 
from El Paso to Denver has undergone a great increase in use, 
particularly in the form of commercial traffic, since the designation 
of the Federal interstate system. This trend will be amplified in the 
next decade, as trade and population growth continue to soar in the 
region.
  Therefore, today I am introducing legislation to create the Camino 
Real corridor. The historical reference herein recognizes the 
importance of this trade route to the development of the Southwest. The 
Camino Real de la Tierra Adentro, the Royal Highway of the Interior 
Lands, was the route travelled by people from Mexico City to Santa Fe. 
The modern corridor would be achieved through the enhancement of the 
trade route that today connects El Paso to Albuquerque to Denver, and 
of the border arterials that feed into this route. The improvements in 
infrastructure along this route, would include the use of Intelligent 
Vehicle Highway Systems where appropriate. Thus, information, 
communications, and control technologies will be applied to improve the 
efficiency of this surface transportation system. These changes would 
guarantee that the roads which carry goods between Mexico and the 
interior portion of the United States could handle the heavy flow of 
traffic that is anticipated in the upcoming decades. Further, Denver is 
at the crossroads to the West and Midwest, and positioned to develop 
North to Canada.

  Unfortunately, good roads alone cannot guarantee the efficient cross-
border passage of people, goods and capital. Indeed, many of the 
current delays in United States-Mexico trade occur at the border. So to 
ensure the smooth operation of the corridor system, I also propose the 
creation of the Camino Real Corridor Commission. This Commission would 
report to the Secretary of Transportation, and would be responsible for 
making recommendations to maximize effective utilization of the 
highways and border crossings of the corridor. It would also ensure the 
development of more efficient trade routes. One year after its 
formation, this Commission would make recommendations to the Secretary 
of Transportation indicating the most desirable routes for East-West 
expansion of the corridor, and for possible expansion of the corridor 
to the Canadian border.
  We should not wait until our borders and our trade routes are 
completely overwhelmed to take decisive action. Rather, our 
infrastructure and our border enforcement agencies should keep pace 
with growing trade levels, and with the realities of increasing 
international interdependence.
  The Camino real corridor is clearly the best place to start, but it 
need not be an end point. This project ought to serve as a model for 
future initiatives in other major border cities. It will also serve as 
a starting point for an important highway network that will connect 
Mexico with the interior United States, and possibly with Canada. 
Because of the services it will supply and the model that it will 
provide, the creation of the Camino real corridor and its accompanying 
Commission deserves the support of my colleagues.

                          ____________________