FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          PRESS CONTACT:

December 20, 2013                                                      Brenda Lopez   956.544.8352

PRESS RELEASE: Congressman Vela Supports Partnership Between CBP and Border Trade Alliance to Expand Services

WASHINGTON – U.S. Congressman Filemon Vela (TX-34) supports the partnership between Customs Border Protection and Border Trade Alliance to finalize the agreements for five public-private partnerships.  Cross-border trade and travel stakeholders gathered in Washington, D.C. at the headquarters of Customs and Border Protection for the official signing of five “reimbursable fee agreements” between CBP and partners in the air and land environments.

The agreements were made possible by Section 560 of the Fiscal Year 2013 continuing resolution budget deal (H.R. 933), which passed in March. The agreements allow the winning projects to partner with CBP to improve staffing at the affected ports of entry.

Two proposals focused on improving port staffing levels that were submitted from U.S.-Mexico border communities were selected by CBP: one by the City of El Paso, and another by the South Texas Asset Consortium (STAC), a joint submission by South Texas port entities in Laredo, Rio Grande City, McAllen, Pharr and Cameron County. The City of El Paso and the STAC partners of the Starr-Camargo Bridge Co., City of McAllen, City of Pharr and Cameron County are all Border Trade Alliance members.

“Today marks a bold step towards improving operations at our nation’s ports of entry,” Border Trade Alliance President Noe Garcia said. “We look forward to these pilots demonstrating that CBP and partners at the local level can craft innovative solutions for facilitating legitimate trade and travel through improved staffing levels. This is a significant achievement for a trade community that has been clamoring for a new way of doing business on the border. We want to thank Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), Rep. Filemón Vela (D-Texas) and Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) for their support of these proposals.”

“These agreements take an innovative, regional approach to port management,” STAC President and Starr-Camargo Bridge Co. President Sam F. Vale said. “Now bridge owners and operators have a greater voice in how needed resources will be deployed to the ports of entry. On behalf of all the STAC participants, we look forward to working with CBP in implementing these pilot projects, which we believe will greatly enhance our region’s economy and international trade competitiveness.”

"The signing of these reimbursable fee agreements is a recognition of the importance of Texas ports of entry to the national economy," said Representative Vela.   "The South Texas Asset Consortium (STAC), which is comprised of the City of Laredo, Starr-Camargo International Bridge, the City of McAllen, the City of Pharr, and Cameron County should be commended for finding innovative solutions to reducing wait times and facilitating trade along our ports of entry.  Improving port staffing levels is critical in order to increase U.S. trade with Mexico, which last year alone reached $500 billion.  My office worked alongside STAC and the Border Trade Alliance to ensure that CBP understood the vital role Texas ports play in our regional and national economy."

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