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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, Laredo has taken on ever-increasing national |
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security responsibilities since the advent of the North American |
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Free Trade Agreement in 1994, but it is ineligible for federal |
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Targeted Infrastructure Capability grants because such grants are |
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based primarily on population criteria rather than threat |
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assessment; 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 carries 50 percent of all |
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NAFTA-related trade through Texas; as of 2015, the city ranked as |
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the number one inland port in the country with over $284 billion in |
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trade, and hazardous materials constitute almost half of the cargo |
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that travels through the Laredo corridor by land and rail; the city |
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also has more than 5,000 acres of warehouse space, at least a |
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quarter of which contains hazardous materials vulnerable to |
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terrorism; and |
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WHEREAS, The volume of hazardous materials transiting |
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through Laredo presents enormous potential for a disaster, and |
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first responders must be prepared for a chemical spill or hazardous |
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materials release; moreover, 15,000 visitors cross into the city |
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every day, at a time when drug-related violence on the other side of |
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the border is increasing; frontline emergency personnel also |
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respond to incidents on the Rio Grande, which is the chief source of |
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drinking water for many border communities, and to any bomb threats |
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reported on the international bridges, as well as to an ever-rising |
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number of other emergency calls in a growing community; and |
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WHEREAS, The Department of Homeland Security currently |
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awards its Targeted Infrastructure Capability grants largely on the |
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basis of metropolitan population, and with an estimated population |
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of about 255,000, Laredo does not meet the criteria for grants such |
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as the Urban Area Strategic Initiative or Port Security awards; and |
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WHEREAS, Laredo is smaller than other major United States |
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ports, and it has a much more limited budget for local agencies; |
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federal funds are desperately needed to ensure that emergency |
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responders can manage international threats to critical |
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infrastructure safely and efficiently; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 85th 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 emphasize threat assessment |
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for strategically located border communities, rather than |
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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. |