[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 13871]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  RECOGNIZING PORTS-TO-PLAINS ALLIANCE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Arrington) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate and 
recognize the Ports-to-Plains Alliance on 20 years of hard work to 
ensure a voice for rural communities in America's heartland and for 
educating others on the importance of building out infrastructure 
around feeding, fueling, and clothing America's cities in urban areas.
  Let me start by recognizing the hard work and the leadership of my 
dear friend and predecessor who left big shoes for me to fill, and that 
man is Randy Neugebauer, who is, in my mind, the father of this great 
initiative. And we in west Texas and up and down the backbone of this 
country owe him a debt of gratitude. I extend my deepest thanks and 
appreciation to Congressman Randy Neugebauer.
  For those who aren't familiar, the Ports-to-Plains corridor runs 
north and south through the center of America's heartland, from my 
State of Texas to Montana, through New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, 
Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming, and North Dakota. It is 
strategically located to create jobs and increase economic efficiency 
by connecting rural areas to urban America, regional trade centers, and 
international transportation facilities.
  Within the Ports-to-Plains service area, there are three 
congressionally designated corridors, high-priority transportation 
corridors, consisting of over 2,300 miles of highway and 38 million 
citizens.
  The Ports-to-Plains region includes States that lead our Nation's 
energy economy, with 7 of the top 10 States in oil production and 8 of 
the top 10 States in wind energy generation, producing over $44 million 
in agriculture goods, or about 22 percent of the United States' total 
production of agriculture.
  The Ports-to-Plains corridor annually generates over $166 billion in 
trade with Canada and Mexico, which is almost 20 percent of all U.S. 
North American trade.
  The bottom line is: Middle America provides the food, fuel, and fiber 
that strengthens and protects our Nation, but that is only true when we 
can get the product to market. Unfortunately, nearly half of this 
region consists of two-lane, antiquated roads that cannot safely and 
reliably handle today's traffic demands, much less future traffic 
demands.
  These roads were never designed to accommodate the kind of traffic 
and large trucks being used today, mainly by the energy and agriculture 
industries. The Ports-to-Plains Alliance, through its partnerships, has 
formed a strong voice for rural America promoting the importance of 
investing in its highway infrastructure.
  I am honored to share the significance of this corridor and its needs 
by chairing the newly created Congressional Ports-to-Plains Caucus 
alongside--and this is a bipartisan effort--my House co-chairs 
Representatives Smith, Gonzalez, Cuellar, and our counterparts in the 
Senate, Senators Heitkamp and Fischer.
  If we are going to continue to feed and clothe the American people 
and fuel this great economy, we must make the investment in our 
infrastructure, and we must make that investment in rural America. The 
return is incalculable, unmeasurable, unquantifiable, and we need to 
make that investment.
  If you want to make America great again, support the people of rural 
America, support the products of rural America, and God help us support 
the values of rural America.
  God bless America, and God bless America's beating heart in small 
towns all across this land.

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