[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 54 (Monday, April 16, 2012)]
[House]
[Page H1814]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               STRENGTHENING THE U.S.-MEXICO RELATIONSHIP

  (Mr. DREIER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I have long aspired to a relationship at the 
U.S.-Mexican border like the one that the United States of America has 
with Canada. And I know that raises some red flags, but the fact of the 
matter is three things need to be done: We need to have economies of 
scale, an end to illegal immigration, and an end to narcotrafficking.
  One of the things that is essential is economic growth in Mexico, and 
many people have constantly talked about the fact that we have nothing 
but rich and poor. And while that disparity still exists, there's a 
very important study, and I just got this from Arturo Sarukhan, the 
great Mexican Ambassador to the United States, entitled, ``Mexico: A 
Middle Class Society, Poor No More, Developed Not Yet,'' by two 
academics, Luis de la Calle and Luis Rubio.
  Mr. Speaker, in this document--and I commend it to my colleagues; I 
suspect it's been sent to a number of them--they talk about the fact 
that we have seen the middle class in Mexico emerge dramatically within 
the last half century. The study points to the fact that in 1960, a 
majority of Mexicans lived in one-room homes. Today, a majority of 
Mexicans lives in homes with three rooms or larger.
  If you look at the other tremendous indications, the fact that there 
is a burgeoning middle class in Mexico is a positive sign towards 
dealing with the challenges that we have.
  Again, Mr. Speaker, I commend this document to my colleagues.

                          ____________________