Feedback Form

Skip navigation

The opinions of individual BTA Border Blog contributors don't necessarily reflect the editorial position of Border Trade Alliance as a whole.

Jul 01

BTA Pressing for Border Priorities in Federal Spending Bill

Published by PR.
in Advocacy, Infrastructure, Legislation. 2 Comments
111th-congress, Border Infrastrucutre, WHTI, economic-stimulus, Border Trade Alliance, border security, DHS, GSA, CBP

 

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.”
Read More →

Share this post

Jun 03

U.S. Border Ports Division Eliminated Prior to Obama’s GSA Administrator Confirmation Tomorrow

Published by Director of Policy.
in Advocacy, Infrastructure. 0 Comments
GSA Land ports
US-Border Land Port Congestion
Border Trade Alliance Urges Nominee to Outline Plans to Ensure GSA Addresses Critical Border Ports Infrastructure Upgrades

Washington D.C. - Border Trade Alliance (BTA) strongly urges Ms. Martha N. Johnson, President Obama’s nominee to head the General Services Administration (GSA) to outline her intention to lead GSA in upgrading land border infrastructure during her June 3rd confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.  Last week, border communities and businesses were shocked by the GSA decision to eliminate their Land Port of Entry Division, the division responsible for U.S. border land ports.

In 2008, U.S. border land ports were responsible for facilitating more than $830 billion in cross-border trade and processed 45.7 million pedestrians, more than 10.7 million trucks and more than 107.5 million personal vehicles.  The sustained growth of North American land border trade is limited by overburdened and outdated infrastructure at U.S. land ports, most of which were built forty years ago and not designed to handle the volume of trade or the current security procedures conducted at our borders.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided GSA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) with $720 million for land port infrastructure upgrades.  However, the majority of the projects funded by GSA and CBP were at ports of entry with low crossing volumes, continuing the ongoing need for additional federal investment in infrastructure at our nation’s busiest ports.

BTA calls upon Ms. Johnson to respond to the following concerns during her confirmation testimony: Read More →

Share this post

Apr 02

GSA Plans $300m in Border Port Upgrades Aid Secure Trade

Published by Policy.
in Advocacy, Infrastructure, Press Releases. 0 Comments

Border ports photo for GSA post

 

Federal stimulus funds move towards addressing critical border port upgrades, but more long-term investment is needed to address increasing trade and security demands at the border.

Yesterday, the General Services Administration (GSA) submitted details to the U.S. Congress, on a proposed plan for border land port infrastructure spending, as approved under the recently enacted economic stimulus measure, H.R. 1 the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  GSA was appropriated $300 million and the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Customs and Border Protection (CBP) was allotted $420 million toward land port infrastructure upgrades as part of H.R. 1.

Border Trade Alliance (BTA) pressed Congress last year to include federal funding for land border crossing upgrades and resources to support the hundreds of thousands of jobs that depend on the $830 billion in cross-border economic activity conducted at U.S. shared borders with Canada and Mexico.  While the BTA is pleased that the U.S. Congress appropriated $720 million for border ports to GSA and CBP in the economic stimulus, a commitment to sustained investment in upgrading the U.S.’s decades-old, overburdened ports is essential to future economic growth and security.

The majority of U.S. border crossings were not designed to handle the volume of trade that has resulted with the success of the North American Free Trade Agreement or the increased security operations that have been brought online since 2001.  While the economic downturn has reduced the volume of crossings at many U.S. land ports, the value of cross-border North American trade last year rose to a record $830 billion, due largely to growth in U.S. exports to Canada and Mexico.
“The BTA appreciates that Congress and the Administration approved $720 million in the stimulus bill for much-needed border crossing infrastructure upgrades,” notes Erin Martin Ward, Chair of the BTA, “We need continued leadership at the federal level to ensure that the tremendous growth in NAFTA trade and the economic activity it has generated can be sustained.  Canada and Mexico are the U.S.’s largest two export markets and we cannot afford to overlook the additional funding needed to upgrade our land ports to facilitate their critical contribution to our national economy and our security.”

GSA’s announced plan for spending the $300 million include funding for the following port infrastructure projects ($1,000s USD): Read More →

Share this post

Nov 17

BTA Urges Inclusion of Port Infrastructure Funding in Economic Stimulus Legislation

Published by Accounting.
in Advocacy, Infrastructure, Legislation. 2 Comments
Expedited Delivery of Critical Border Infrastructure Necessary to Sustain Positive Sector of National Economy

Monday, November 17, 2008, Phoenix, AZ - The Border Trade Alliance (BTA) urges Congress to support the recent call of border-state House members to include immediate funding for port and transportation infrastructure and resources as part of the economic stimulus package currently under consideration.  U.S. ports of entry, the cash registers of our nation, along our borders with Canada and Mexico handle nearly $800 billion in trade each year.  For decades, federal investment in infrastructure and resources at our ports of entry has not matched the need in order to sustain this growing level of trade.

Last week a group of bipartisan group of 11 House Members, including Representatives Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Silvestre Reyes (D-TX), Ciro Rodriguez (D-TX), Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX), Solomon Ortiz (D-TX), Bart Stupak (D-MI), Bob Filner (D-CA), John M. McHugh (R-NY), Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), Steve Kagen, M.D. (D-WI), and Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), sent a letter to House leadership urging inclusion of $5 billion in infrastructure investment to upgrade U.S. land ports of entry to support cross-border trade, to-date a positive sector in a troubled national economy.  The BTA, as the leading tri-national organization representing border communities and trade, has long advocated for increased federal investment in support of cross-border trade and commerce and commends these Congressional leaders for raising border infrastructure as a national economic priority.

According to the President’s Export Council, nearly 1/3 of the $14 trillion U.S. economy is directly generated by trade.  The United States’ two largest export markets are our NAFTA trading partners, Canada and Mexico.  A recent National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) study reports that U.S. exports accounted for 61 percent of our national economic growth during the past year, despite our economic turmoil.  According to the federal government 12 million American workers and farmers’ jobs are sustained by trade.  The economic activity at our borders plays a significant role in supporting real job growth, working families and supports vital domestic industries like agriculture and manufacturing.  The direct national economic contribution of cross-border travel and exports conducted at the U.S. land ports of entry last year totaled more than $360 billion.

Growing cross-border delays, overburdened and outdated infrastructure, and inadequate staffing and associated resources threaten to undermine U.S. trade competitiveness as well as directly impacting the cost of doing business for manufacturers, transportation firms, and small businesses while raising the cost of U.S. consumer goods and reducing state and local sales tax revenue.  BTA feels that decision makers in Washington should be alarmed by recent statistics that illustrate the economic impacts of inadequate border infrastructure and cross-border congestion. According to the Texas Transportation Institute’s 2007 Urban Mobility Report, congestion caused urban Americans to travel 4.2 billion hours more and to purchase an extra 2.9 billion gallons of fuel for a total estimated cost of $78 billion, with border regions being some of the most affected.

The BTA has continually recommended that federal resources must more closely match the economic contribution of our nation’s 166 land ports of entry.  U.S. Customs and Border Protection has stated that it alone requires $5 billion over the next 10 years in infrastructure maintenance and upgrades to its facilities at land ports of entry in order to support its dual mission of facilitating legitimate trade and travel facilitation and providing security along our borders.

The BTA has also consistently urged policymakers to better leverage the limited federal border resources by:

  • Ensuring that federal investment be re-focused on projects that alleviate the infrastructure bottlenecks at our ports rather than being directed to earmarks that have little if any national economic benefit.
  • Eliminating red tape at the State Department currently results in a delay of 7-10 years before a new port of entry can be approved for construction, with similar delays for improving existing infrastructure at many ports of entry.
  • Stressing the need for continual federal investment in low cost, high impact infrastructure and resource projects that serve to increase the efficiency of cross-border trade, travel and commerce while also improving public safety and security.
  • Utilizing private sector investment in border infrastructure.

“It is not too late for our political leaders to address the roadblocks at our nation’s ports that are impeding the growth of our export economy, which threaten to exacerbate an existing economic crisis of nearly unparalleled proportions and relegate the United States to a second-tier player in the global economy.” says BTA President Maria Luisa O’Connell.

Share this post

Close
E-mail It