82R26492 CBE-D

By: Gonzales of Hidalgo H.C.R. No. 146

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Inadequate staffing and outdated infrastructure and technology at land ports of entry on the southwestern border harm the nation's economy and undermine the ability of United States Customs and Border Protection to fulfill its mission; and

WHEREAS, For the past two decades, the federal government has concentrated funding for the security of the United States-Mexico border on deterrence in the regions between land ports, at the expense of land ports of entry; as a result, the average land port of entry is now more than 40 years old and in dire need of modernization, as reported at the December 2008 U.S.-Mexico Joint Working Committee by the head of the Customs and Border Protection Land Ports of Entry Modernization Program, who estimated capital costs for necessary upgrades at $6 billion; and

WHEREAS, While funding for land ports of entry has lagged, traffic passing through them has increased dramatically, as has the value of goods traded; the value of imports carried by truck was 26.5 percent higher in 2010 than in 2009, and the value of exports carried by truck was 24.3 percent higher, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation Bureau of Transportation Statistics; in 2010, Texas not only led the country in surface trade with Mexico with $114.5 billion, but it became the first state to ever have more than $100 billion in trade with Mexico by surface modes of transportation in a single calendar year; and

WHEREAS, This increased traffic places a great strain on aging infrastructure and technology and requires massive amounts of overtime for inspectors charged with screening cars and trucks; these pressures cause serious and costly slowdowns; according to a March 2008 draft report for the U.S. Department of Commerce entitled "Improving Economic Outcomes by Reducing Border Delays," wait times averaging one hour at the five busiest land ports of entry on the southern border resulted in an average economic output loss of $116 million per minute of delay; in 2008, the average annual cost of these delays to the U.S. economy was nearly 26,000 jobs and $6 billion in output, $1.4 billion in wages, and $600 million in tax revenues; by 2017, average wait times could increase to nearly 100 minutes, costing more than 54,000 jobs and $12 billion in output, $3 billion in wages, and $1.2 billion in tax revenues each year; the cumulative loss in output due to border delays over the next 10 years is estimated to be $86 billion; and

WHEREAS, With increased funding for enforcement in the terrain between land ports, drug cartels and others have shifted their trafficking operations; the probability of apprehending an individual attempting an illegal crossing in these areas is now about 70 percent, according to a report by Scott Borger of the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies at the University of California-San Diego entitled "Estimates of the Cyclical Inflow of Undocumented Migrants to the United States"; by contrast, at land ports of entry, enforcement officers apprehend only about 30 percent of those engaged in major crimes, such as human trafficking, drug smuggling, and possession of illegal weapons, according to the Department of Homeland Security's Annual Performance Report for Fiscal Years 2008-2010; and

WHEREAS, Reports by the U.S. Government Accountability Office have found that infrastructure and technology at land ports of entry are inadequate; in order to maintain national security while expediting the flow of trade, it is imperative that our nation modernize its land ports of entry and ensure that staffing levels are adequate to manage an increasingly high volume of international traffic; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to enact legislation to provide sufficient manpower, infrastructure, and technology to ensure the security and efficiency of land ports of entry on the southwestern border; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.