{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://sewell.house.gov/2024/5/rep-sewell-leads-alabama-house-delegation-in-letter-to-mexican-government-demanding-remedy-to-unlawful-treatment-of-alabama-s-vulcan-materials-company", "Rep. Sewell Leads Alabama House Delegation in Letter to Mexican Government Demanding Remedy to Unlawful Treatment of Alabama\u2019s Vulcan Materials Company", "2024-05-13", "2024", "2024-05", "Democrat", "House", "AL", "Terri A. Sewell", "S001185", "sewell.house.gov", "sewell", "https://sewell.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington D.C. \u2014 U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) led Alabama\u2019s House Delegation in a letter to Mexico\u2019s Foreign Relations Secretary Alicia B\u00e1rcena urging her to take action regarding the Mexican government\u2019s mistreatment of Alabama-based Vulcan Materials Company.\n\nLast week marked two years since the Mexican government illegally invaded and shut down Vulcan\u2019s Punta Venado deep-water port in Quintana Roo, Mexico. Since the invasion, Mexican President Lopez Obrador has repeatedly threatened to forcibly take over Vulcan\u2019s port and limestone quarry, forcing their operations out of Mexico, despite the company\u2019s consistent presence in Mexico for more than 35 years.\n\nThe letter states in part, \u201cWe want to assure you, the Mexican government, President L\u00f3pez Obrador, and interested parties; should Vulcan's land and port be seized, we will use all the powers at our disposal, including legislative remedies, to ensure no entity or individual will benefit from the theft of Vulcan's property.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe call on you to commit to enforce the terms and spirit of our existing free trade agreements and carry out the rule of law,\u201d the representatives continued. \u201cFailure to do so will have profound and lasting impacts on our trade relationship and harm future opportunities to promote shared economic prosperity. We stand ready to work with you to ensure this pattern of harassment is reversed and a beneficial solution is found for all parties involved.\u201d\n\nThe letter was also signed by U.S. Representatives Jerry Carl (AL-01), Barry Moore (AL-02), Mike Rogers (AL-03), Robert Aderholt (AL-04), Dale Strong (AL-05), and Gary Palmer (AL-06).\n\nA similar letter was sent by U.S. Senators Katie Britt (R-AL), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), and Tim Kaine (D-VA).\n\nRead the full letter here or below:\n\nSecretary B\u00e1rcena:\n\nAs Members of the United States House of Representatives, we are writing to inquire about our previous correspondence related to the unlawful treatment of the Vulcan Materials Company in Mexico.\n\nThis week marks two years since the Government of Mexico illegally invaded and shut down the lawful operations of Vulcan Materials Company in Quintana Roo, Mexico. Since then, Vulcan has faced near-constant threats and harassment from the government, including from President L\u00f3pez Obrador himself.\n\nThe threats have been compounded by multiple military intrusions and occupations of the company\u2019s property, including in March of 2023. These unwarranted and unprecedented actions have chilled our bilateral relationship and harmed infrastructure development in Mexico and the United States.\n\nWe want to assure you, the Mexican government, President L\u00f3pez Obrador, and interested parties; should Vulcan's land and port be seized, we will use all the powers at our disposal, including legislative remedies, to ensure no entity or individual will benefit from the theft of Vulcan's property.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:01:11Z"]], "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://sewell.house.gov/2024/5/rep-sewell-leads-alabama-house-delegation-in-letter-to-mexican-government-demanding-remedy-to-unlawful-treatment-of-alabama-s-vulcan-materials-company"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.642454881221056, "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"}