Economic Development
3/30/2006
Economic Development
Congressman Reyes' views on economic development.
 With a centuries old tradition of travel, trade, and commerce along the historic Camino Real, El Paso is one of the most unique and promising places to do business in the country. Our diverse labor force, binational ties with Mexico, and world class work ethic drive our economic development and growth. This is evidenced by Expansion Management Magazines naming El Paso as the twenty first Hottest city in the nation for its image as a prime location for manufacturing and relocation, based on our business environment, workforce quality, worker training programs, and other positive factors. The magazine confirmed what most of us already know - El Paso is a great place to do business!
So how do we continue to build up El Pasos economic vitality? In a word, PARTNERSHIPS.
With assets like our International Ports of Entry, Ft. Bliss, the University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso Community College, our Chambers of Commerce, City, County and State economic development leaders, border business alliances, non-profits, Empowerment Zone, the SBA, and small and large business interests, it is critical that we forge the partnerships that will carry us forward in a changing global economy.
The value of these partnerships cannot be understated. When I worked to successfully secure the designation of El Paso as an Empowerment Zone, the collaboration between local organizations made the difference in Washington, and we became one of only fifteen zones designated during the last round. When I saw a need to increase the number of businesses that in the past had not done business with the federal government, I joined with the El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce to aggressively reach out to historically underutilized businesses, and we successfully certified more businesses per capita as HUB (Historically underutilized businesses) than any city in Texas. More recently, I joined El Pasos Foreign Trade Zone, the El Paso International Airport, federal agencies, the Chambers, and businesses to examine how we can better facilitate critical trade across our International border. In short, by working together we continue to put the building blocks in place to help El Pasos business climate thrive.
These partnerships will help us in the creation and development of quality jobs and new investment growth across all economic sectors. We can create a balance and diversity of industry bases, create and foster a culture of entrepreneurial spirit in both the public and private sector, target high value added industries, support and encourage higher education research initiatives and link growth strategies to these initiatives, foster the creation of new industry clusters based on existing university programs like healthcare services, biotech, clinical research, and defense.
El Pasos economic future rests in our own hands. Together, we will be a prosperous, sustainable community generating the best possible quality of life for our citizens.
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