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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, Inadequate staffing and outdated infrastructure and |
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technology at land ports of entry on the southwestern border harm |
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the nation's economy and undermine the ability of United States |
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Customs and Border Protection to fulfill its mission; and |
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WHEREAS, For the past two decades, the federal government has |
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concentrated funding for the security of the United States-Mexico |
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border on deterrence in the regions between land ports, at the |
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expense of land ports of entry; as a result, the average land port |
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of entry is now more than 40 years old and in dire need of |
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modernization, as reported at the December 2008 U.S.-Mexico Joint |
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Working Committee by the head of the Customs and Border Protection |
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Land Ports of Entry Modernization Program, who estimated capital |
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costs for necessary upgrades at $6 billion; and |
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WHEREAS, While funding for land ports of entry has lagged, |
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traffic passing through them has increased dramatically, as has the |
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value of goods traded; the value of imports carried by truck was |
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26.5 percent higher in 2010 than in 2009, and the value of exports |
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carried by truck was 24.3 percent higher, according to the U.S. |
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Department of Transportation Bureau of Transportation Statistics; |
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in 2010, Texas not only led the country in surface trade with Mexico |
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with $114.5 billion, but it became the first state to ever have more |
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than $100 billion in trade with Mexico by surface modes of |
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transportation in a single calendar year; and |
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WHEREAS, This increased traffic places a great strain on |
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aging infrastructure and technology and requires massive amounts of |
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overtime for inspectors charged with screening cars and trucks; |
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these pressures cause serious and costly slowdowns; according to a |
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March 2008 draft report for the U.S. Department of Commerce |
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entitled "Improving Economic Outcomes by Reducing Border Delays," |
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wait times averaging one hour at the five busiest land ports of |
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entry on the southern border resulted in an average economic output |
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loss of $116 million per minute of delay; in 2008, the average |
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annual cost of these delays to the U.S. economy was nearly 26,000 |
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jobs and $6 billion in output, $1.4 billion in wages, and $600 |
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million in tax revenues; by 2017, average wait times could increase |
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to nearly 100 minutes, costing more than 54,000 jobs and $12 billion |
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in output, $3 billion in wages, and $1.2 billion in tax revenues |
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each year; the cumulative loss in output due to border delays over |
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the next 10 years is estimated to be $86 billion; and |
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WHEREAS, With increased funding for enforcement in the |
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terrain between land ports, drug cartels and others have shifted |
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their trafficking operations; the probability of apprehending an |
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individual attempting an illegal crossing in these areas is now |
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about 70 percent, according to a report by Scott Borger of the |
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Center for Comparative Immigration Studies at the University of |
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California-San Diego entitled "Estimates of the Cyclical Inflow of |
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Undocumented Migrants to the United States"; by contrast, at land |
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ports of entry, enforcement officers apprehend only about 30 |
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percent of those engaged in major crimes, such as human |
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trafficking, drug smuggling, and possession of illegal weapons, |
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according to the Department of Homeland Security's Annual |
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Performance Report for Fiscal Years 2008-2010; and |
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WHEREAS, Reports by the U.S. Government Accountability |
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Office have found that infrastructure and technology at land ports |
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of entry are inadequate; in order to maintain national security |
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while expediting the flow of trade, it is imperative that our nation |
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modernize its land ports of entry and ensure that staffing levels |
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are adequate to manage an increasingly high volume of international |
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traffic; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to enact |
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legislation to provide sufficient manpower, infrastructure, and |
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technology to ensure the security and efficiency of land ports of |
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entry on the southwestern border; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to |
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the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of |
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Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the |
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members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that |
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this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a |
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memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. |