By: Truan, Lucio, Zaffirini S.C.R. No. 2 Shapleigh SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1-1 WHEREAS, Bottlenecks at customs inspection lanes have 1-2 contributed to traffic congestion at Texas-Mexico border crossing 1-3 areas, slowing the flow of commerce and detracting from the 1-4 economic potential of the North American Free Trade Agreement 1-5 (NAFTA); and 1-6 WHEREAS, Smuggling of drugs inside truck parts and cargo 1-7 containers compounds the problem, necessitating lengthy vehicle 1-8 searches that put federal customs officials in a crossfire between 1-9 their mandate to speed the movement of goods and their mandate to 1-10 reduce the flow of illegal substances; and 1-11 WHEREAS, At the state level, the Texas comptroller of public 1-12 accounts has released a report titled Bordering the Future, 1-13 recommending among other items that U.S. customs inspection 1-14 facilities at major international border crossings stay open around 1-15 the clock; and 1-16 WHEREAS, At the federal level, the U.S. General Accounting 1-17 Office is conducting a similar study of border commerce and NAFTA 1-18 issues, and the U.S. Customs Service is working with a private 1-19 trade entity to review and analyze the relationship between its 1-20 inspector numbers and its inspection workload; and 1-21 WHEREAS, Efficiency in the flow of NAFTA commerce requires 1-22 two federal customs-related funding commitments: (1) improved 1-23 infrastructure, including additional customs inspection lanes; and 1-24 (2) a concurrent expansion in customs personnel and customs 2-1 operating hours; and 2-2 WHEREAS, Section 1119 of the federal Transportation Act for 2-3 the 21st Century (TEA-21), creating the Coordinated Border 2-4 Infrastructure Program, serves as a funding source for border area 2-5 infrastructure improvements and regulatory enhancements; and 2-6 WHEREAS, Domestic profits and income increase in tandem with 2-7 exports and imports, generating federal revenue, some portion of 2-8 which deserves channeling into the customs activity that supports 2-9 increased international trade; and 2-10 WHEREAS, Texas legislators and businesses, being close to the 2-11 situation geographically, are acutely aware of the fixes and 2-12 upgrades that require attention if NAFTA prosperity is truly to 2-13 live up to the expectations of this state and nation; now, 2-14 therefore, be it 2-15 RESOLVED, That the 76th Legislature of the State of Texas 2-16 hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to 2-17 provide funding for infrastructure improvements, more customs 2-18 inspection lanes and customs officials, and 24-hour customs 2-19 operations at border crossings between Texas and Mexico; and, be it 2-20 further 2-21 RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official 2-22 copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to 2-23 the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of 2-24 the senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of 2-25 the Texas delegation to the congress with the request that this 2-26 resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a 3-1 memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.