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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, Since the advent of the North American Free Trade |
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Agreement in 1994, Laredo has contended with growing |
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responsibilities for national security, but still remains |
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ineligible for federal Targeted Infrastructure Capability grants |
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because the city falls short of the population criteria on which the |
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grants are primarily based; and |
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WHEREAS, The gateway for the nation's main NAFTA corridor, |
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Laredo has four International Bridges and is in the process of |
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applying for a Presidential Permit to build a fifth; the city is the |
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busiest inland port in the United States, with nearly 3 million |
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tractor-trailer crossings and more than 400,000 rail crossings |
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annually as of 2008; in addition, the Laredo Airport, a former U.S. |
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Air Force Base, handled more than 429 million pounds of freight in |
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2010 alone; and |
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WHEREAS, Half of all NAFTA-related trade through Texas enters |
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via Laredo, and half of that trade involves hazardous materials; |
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each day, the city's first responders face the possibility of a |
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chemical spill or hazardous materials release; the city also has |
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over 60 million square feet of warehouse space, at least a quarter |
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of which contains hazardous materials and is vulnerable to |
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terrorism; more than 15,000 visitors cross into Laredo every day, |
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and the police department confronts an escalating threat from |
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violent international drug traffickers, who frequently possess |
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caches of state-of-the-art weapons along with sophisticated |
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communications systems; and |
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WHEREAS, Relatively isolated on its side of the border, |
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Laredo is approximately 150 miles from the nearest United States |
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community with the capability to assist in an emergency situation, |
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and its police, fire, and public health personnel are the primary |
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emergency responders for the entire region; since the attacks of |
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September 11, 2001, the police department has provided increased |
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security for many facilities, among them all the ports of entry and |
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interstate commerce corridors IH-35 and U.S. Highway 59; moreover, |
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Laredo provides primary first response for incidents on the Rio |
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Grande, and as the river is the chief drinking water source for |
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Laredo, Nuevo Laredo, and other communities in the valley, swift |
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response to any contamination is extremely critical; and |
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WHEREAS, With an estimated population of about 240,000, |
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Laredo is a much smaller city than other major United States ports; |
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its own budget is accordingly limited, and at the same time, its |
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size has been an impediment in the pursuit of federal assistance; |
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increased federal funding is desperately needed to strengthen |
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readiness where local agencies with strained budgets are not |
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adequate to protect our nation's critical infrastructure and |
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address international threats; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to revise |
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Department of Homeland Security funding formulas for Targeted |
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Infrastructure Capability grants to include a separate threat |
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assessment for strategically located border communities, |
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regardless of population; 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, to the secretary of |
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the Department of Homeland Security, and to all the members of the |
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Texas delegation to Congress with the request that this resolution |
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be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to |
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the Congress of the United States of America. |