Rep. Filemon Vela, D-Texas speaks about how the Texas-Mexico trade impacts the overall economy at the release of a new report by the National Policy Institute.
WASHINGTON – Trade between Texas and Mexico creates jobs and buoys the economy – and investing in projects that facilitate that relationship is smart fiscal policy, according to a report released Wednesday by a progressive think tank.
‘Texas is critically important to economic support for our state and local economies,” said Erik Lee, author of the report by the New Policy Institute, which is an affiliate of the New Democrat Network. “Texas dominates U.S.-Mexico trade.”
Mexico is Texas’ no. 1 trading partner and the United States’ third largest.
“Our region is heavily reliant on business with Mexico,” said Rep. Filemon Vela, D-Texas, who spoke at a news conference announcing the report’s findings.
In 2012, Texas-Mexico trade was more than $194 billion in goods trade, according to the report. And Texas makes up 63 percent of the total U.S.-Mexico border and is the largest port of entry for the United States.
But problems with funding for infrastructure improvement and staffing shortages at the border are hindering trade, the report found.
The proposed immigration overhaul bill under consideration in the Senate, crafted by a bipartisan group of senators known as the Gang of Eight, would aid the staffing shortages at ports of entry by adding 3,500 U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers.
Vela, as well as the researches who worked on the report, said they support the Senate plan.
Texas lawmakers introduced a measure in the U.S. House of Representatives in March that would allow CBP to raise funds through public-private partnerships for projects that improve trade.
By example, Vela pointed to the Donna Bridge, which he said he’s currently working to commercialize, would provide commercial lanes to facilitate trade. The bridge near the U.S.-Mexico border is presently passenger-only.
“It would be a tremendous benefit to the local economy to be able to commercialize on that bridge,” Vela said.
Vela said he expects to see a proposal for an immigration bill from the House in about two weeks.