Border Trade Alliance

Border Trade Alliance Urges Congressional Attention to Continued Underfunding of Aged Land Ports and Border Security Initiatives

Washington D.C. July 1, 2009 - Today, Border Trade Alliance (BTA) pressed the House and Senate Appropriations Committees to ensure secure trade and travel at our borders is made a priority, in-line with the $830 billion in annual economic activity it generates, in upcoming federal spending bills.

Currently, the House and Senate versions of the FY10 DHS Appropriations bill are absent funding for critical land port infrastructure upgrades and may fail to match the President’s budget request for previously mandated border security initiatives. This combination of budgetary shortfalls threatens to undermine the secure movement of more than 45.7 million pedestrians, 10.7 million commercial trucks, and 107.5 million personal vehicles - to a sum of over 3/4 of a trillion in economic activity at our land borders. In 2008, Michigan alone handled nearly $67 billion in surface trade with Canada.

Most U.S. land ports were built half a century or more ago without the adequate infrastructure to handle the tremendous growth in trade and implementation of the many layers of security now in place at all U.S. land ports of entry. BTA is urging Congress to address the continued need for more capacity on our bridges, more cargo and passenger lanes at our land ports of entry, and a greater number of staffed inspection booths to securely and efficiently facilitate the tremendous volume of trade and travel at our ports.

“Clearly, with studies showing that U.S-Mexico cross-border delays cost $716 million in output losses and 3,600 jobs in labor losses in California alone, solutions to these problems would pay for themselves.”, said BTA President Maria Luisa O’Connell. “Our border states, and the nation at large, should not have to continue to bare the burdens of the historic underfunding of our land ports.”

This year, as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), Congress did provide $720 million - 1/100th of the 2008 economic activity generated, or Califonia’s output losses in 2007 - in land port infrastructure upgrades through Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the General Services Administration (GSA). However, with the exception of Nogales, Arizona and San Ysidro, California land ports, most of the projects selected for funding by CBP and GSA were for security upgrades at land ports with small crossing volumes and no congestion. While most projects failed to meet the stated goal of the stimulus in yielding the largest possible return in added jobs and economic activity that would have resulted from congestion reduction at our ports, they also failed to address the security risks posed by overburdened ports of entry.

In June, the largest secure travel program in U.S. history, the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), was implemented at all U.S. land border crossings with minimal impact on land port operations. The sustained success of this program, which is vital toward achieving enhanced security and cross-border travel, is largely dependent on maintaining the necessary funding levels to adequately staff and enhance technology at our nation’s ports. Failure to meet the Presidential budget requests supporting WHTI, could result in dramatic increases in port congestion, negatively impacting the livelihoods of border communities and national industries largely dependent on cross-border commerce, all the while compromising security.

As congress begins to develop the FY10 Financial Services Appropriations legislation, BTA is also asking that committee directs GSA to make funding ports infrastructure a priority, while involving local communities and existing businesses at U.S. land ports in the planning process for new or upgraded infrastructure. Local border stakeholders continue to express concerns to Congress regarding GSA’s lack of community planning in incorporating community-supported pedestrian, parking and transit design elements before beginning construction at San Ysidro or any other land ports of entry.
Despite substantial decreases in surface trade volumes since the beginning of the year - a symptom of the worldwide economic downturn - Congress must begin preparation now for sudden surface trade growth as the economy begins to rebound in 2010. Additionally, the U.S. must prepare for the developments in our neighboring countries that are setting the stage for expanded North American trade for decades to come.

Canada, our largest trading partner continues to far outpace the U.S. in border infrastructure, spending billions annually on critical border and trade corridor infrastructure projects like new bridges, highways, and existing lane expansions. Additionally, Mexico has ramped up trade infrastructure efforts, in part to support a massive $5 billion sea port in Ensenada. The project would create an estimated 80,000 jobs, drawing freighters from Asia and funneling manufactured goods north into Canada and the United States. These projects, will serve little economic benefit for the U.S. if does not begin to address current bottle necks and inefficiencies at the border.

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