[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 38 (Friday, March 15, 2013)]
[House]
[Page H1535]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   CROSS-BORDER TRADE ENHANCEMENT ACT

  (Mr. O'ROURKE asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. O'ROURKE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to 
support the Cross-Border Trade Enhancement Act, a bipartisan bill 
introduced this week that will create jobs and facilitate trade at no 
cost to the Federal Government.
  Trade between the U.S. and Mexico has grown by 600 percent since 1990 
and continues to increase each year; 100,000 jobs in El Paso, Texas, 
and 6 million nationwide depend on this trade. Unfortunately, capacity 
at our ports of entry has not kept pace. Despite increased staffing and 
use of technology, waits at our ports are unpredictable and 
unacceptably long.
  This bill will help us solve this problem. By authorizing public-
private partnerships, this legislation would provide Customs and Border 
Patrol effective new tools to improve infrastructure, expand capacity, 
and increase staffing at our ports of entry without new costs for U.S. 
taxpayers.
  At a time of heightened partisanship, this legislation is proof that 
when Democrats and Republicans work together, we can advance 
commonsense ideas that can create jobs.

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