SRC-JXG S.C.R. 2 76(R)   BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research Center   S.C.R. 2
76R1918 CCK-DBy: Truan
Border Affairs - Special
2/24/1999
As Filed


DIGEST 

Currently, bottlenecks at customs inspections lanes and smuggling of drugs
inside truck parts and cargo containers contribute to traffic congestion at
Texas-Mexico border crossing areas, slowing the flow of commerce and
detracting from the economic potential of the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA). The Texas comptroller of public accounts released a
report titled Bordering the Future, which recommends that U.S. customs
inspection facilities at major international border crossings stay open
around the clock. The U.S. General Accounting Office is conducting a
similar study of border commerce and NAFTA issues, and the U.S. Customs
Service is working with a private trade entity to review and analyze the
relationship between its inspector numbers and its inspection workload.
NAFTA commerce requires two federal customs-related funding commitments:
improving infrastructure and concurrent expansion in customs personnel and
customs operating hours. A new federal highway bill, Transportation Equity
Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), creates the Coordinated Border
Infrastructure Program that provides $700 million in funding over a
five-year period for border infrastructure improvements and regulatory
enhancements. Domestic profits and income increase in tandem with exports
and imports, generating federal revenue, which can be channeled into
supporting increased international trade. This legislation would provide
that Texas request additional funds from Congress for more customs
inspection lanes, customs officials, and 24-hour customs operations at
border crossings between Texas and Mexico.  

PURPOSE

As proposed, S.C.R. 2 submits the following resolutions:

That the Congress of the United States provide funding for infrastructure
improvements, more custom inspection lanes and custom officials, and
24-hour customs operations at border crossings between Texas and Mexico. 

That the Texas secretary of state forward official copies of this
resolution to the president of the United States, speaker of the house of
representatives and the president of the senate of the United States
Congress, and to all the members of the Texas delegation to the congress
with the request that this resolution be officially entered in the
Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of the United States of
America.