{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://hurd.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/public-private-partnership", "Public-private partnership", "2016-12-16", "2016", "2016-12", "Republican", "House", "TX", "Will Hurd", "H001073", "hurd.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, Texan and second-highest ranking Republican in the Senate, toured the World Trade Bridge on Thursday \u2014 the latest official to make an example of Laredo as an important hub for international trade.\nHis visit served to highlight the Cross-Border Trade Enhancement Act, which he co-authored with U.S. Rep\u00a0Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo. The bill passed through Congress Dec. 6 and is now awaiting President Obama\u2019s signature. Cuellar said this was the fastest bill he has ever worked on.\nThe legislation will enable private companies and local governments to donate money or resources to\u00a0Customs and Border Protection\u2019s ports of entry. This generally means that CBP will be able to facilitate trade more quickly through infrastructure improvements and increased staffing.\nFor Laredo, the passage of this bill would allow a public-private partnership to fund fast lanes at the World Trade Bridge that would connect directly to Interstate 35. City Manager Jesus Olivares said in November that the city is applying for a federal grant with the\u00a0Department of Transportation\u00a0to fund this project. He also said it would cost $6-$8 million out of the city\u2019s pocket, \u201cright off the bat.\u201d The goal is simply to get more trucks crossing through Laredo.\n\u201cThe more traffic, the more tolls we collect,\u201d Olivares said.\nThe grand tour\nCornyn was joined Thursday by Cuellar, Olivares, U.S. Rep.\u00a0Will Hurd, R-Helotes, Mayor\u00a0Pete Saenz, Webb County Judge\u00a0Tano Tijerina\u00a0and other city and county officials for a tour of the World Trade Bridge. The officials met privately with local stakeholders such as customs brokers and forwarding agents before the tour.\nYvette Limon, acting bridge director for the city, led Cornyn and the representatives across the road lanes as she explained the daily process at the port. After she informed the group of toll prices, Cornyn quipped, \u201cThat\u2019s pretty cheap!\u201d\nThe senator also spent a few minutes inside a toll booth to get a lay of the land as trucks breezed by.\nIn a news conference, Cornyn alluded to President-elect Trump\u2019s promise to dismantle NAFTA and build a \u201cbig, beautiful\u201d border wall.\n\u201cI know of no one that thinks security is a bad idea \u2014 everyone understands that security is a prerequisite to everything else. But we also have to talk in the same terms about the importance of our ports of entry and trade,\u201d Cornyn said.\nThe\u00a0Texas Tribune\u00a0recently reported that these lawmakers were in a rush to get the Cross-Border Trade Enhancement Act in front of Obama before he leaves office. But when asked Thursday, they said that\u2019s just how the timing worked out after the bill passed through Congress.\nCornyn also said the federal government has not been able to invest properly in international ports of entry run by CBP.\n\u201cThis is really something most people cannot imagine: the flow of commerce and trade across the international border here in Laredo, Texas,\u201d Cornyn said. \u201cAs we all know, the federal government hasn\u2019t kept up with its investment in either the infrastructure or the staffing that\u2019s so important to keeping that flow of trade going ...\u201d\nIn his introduction, Saenz touted new numbers by the Texas Comptroller\u2019s Office: namely that Laredo\u2019s five border crossings accounted for $204 billion of international trade in Texas in 2015.\nHurd, whose district contains nine ports of entry from Eagle Pass to El Paso, said even though this bill seems like a no-brainer for those who work on the border, it almost didn\u2019t happen.\n\u201cIn steps\u00a0Senator Cornyn, in steps Henry Cuellar, and we were able to get this done,\u201d he said.\nThe\u00a0Congressional Budget Office\u00a0concluded that enacting this legislation would not affect federal revenues or deficits in the next 50 years.\nJulia Wallace\u00a0may be reached at jwallace@lmtonline.com\nEl senador de Estados Unidos por Texas, John Cornyn, segundo republicano de mayor rango en el Senado, visit\u00f3 el Puente Internacional del Comercio Mundial el jueves. Cornyn representa la visita m\u00e1s reciente de un funcionario para poner a Laredo como ejemplo de centro importante para el comercio internacional.\nSu visita sirvi\u00f3 para resaltar la Ley de Mejora del Comercio Transfronterizo, que recientemente escribi\u00f3 con el Congresista Henry Cuellar.\nEl proyecto de ley pas\u00f3 por el Congreso el 6 de diciembre y ahora est\u00e1 a la espera de la firma del Presidente Obama. Cuellar dijo que este ha sido el proyecto de ley m\u00e1s r\u00e1pido en el que ha trabajado.\nLa legislaci\u00f3n permitir\u00e1 a empresas privadas y gobiernos locales donar dinero o recursos a los puertos de entrada de Aduanas y Protecci\u00f3n Fronteriza. Esto significa que CBP ser\u00e1 capaz de agilizar el comercio a trav\u00e9s de mejoras en infraestructura y aumento de personal.\nLa aprobaci\u00f3n de este proyecto de ley permitir\u00eda una asociaci\u00f3n p\u00fablico-privada para financiar carriles r\u00e1pidos en el Puente del Comercio Mundial que se conectar\u00edan directamente a la carretera interestatal 35.\nEn noviembre, el administrador de la ciudad\u00a0Jes\u00fas Olivares, dijo que la Ciudad de Laredo est\u00e1 solicitando un subsidio federal del Departamento de Transporte para financiar este proyecto.\nOlivares tambi\u00e9n mencion\u00f3 que el proyecto costar\u00eda entre seis y ocho millones de d\u00f3lares del bolsillo de la ciudad. El objetivo es simplemente conseguir que m\u00e1s camiones cruzen la frontera a trav\u00e9s de Laredo.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://hurd.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/public-private-partnership"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.499831210821867, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}