Carter and Cuellar Announce Public Private Partnership for Infrastructure Improvements along Border

WASHINGTON D.C. –   Homeland Security Appropriations Chairman John Carter (R-TX31) and Subcommittee Member Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX28) succeeded in introducing a bill authorizing U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to initiate public-private partnership pilots for infrastructure improvements at ports of entry along the Texas-Mexico border.

Millions of dollars in commerce cross the southern border every day.  In 2012, trade between the United States and Mexico totaled over $470 billion, roughly the equivalent of $1.3 billion a day or $1 million a minute.  The City of Laredo, the largest inland port in the country, accounts for 45 percent of all trade with Mexico.While this growth has created major economic benefits, it has also left CBP stretching resources to ensure its mission is accomplished.

To address the challenge of growing trade while also maintaining security at the border, Congressman Carter, Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, and Congressman Cuellar, who serves as a member of Chairman Carter’s Subcommittee, offered legislation permitting CBP to enter into agreements with private industry to help grow travel and trade at U.S. ports-of-entry.