85R10332 BPG-D     By: Raymond H.C.R. No. 88       CONCURRENT RESOLUTION          WHEREAS, Laredo has taken on ever-increasing national   security responsibilities since the advent of the North American   Free Trade Agreement in 1994, but it is ineligible for federal   Targeted Infrastructure Capability grants because such grants are   based primarily on population criteria rather than threat   assessment; and          WHEREAS, The gateway for the nation's main NAFTA corridor,   Laredo has four international bridges and carries 50 percent of all   NAFTA-related trade through Texas; as of 2015, the city ranked as   the number one inland port in the country with over $284 billion in   trade, and hazardous materials constitute almost half of the cargo   that travels through the Laredo corridor by land and rail; the city   also has more than 5,000 acres of warehouse space, at least a   quarter of which contains hazardous materials vulnerable to   terrorism; and          WHEREAS, The volume of hazardous materials transiting   through Laredo presents enormous potential for a disaster, and   first responders must be prepared for a chemical spill or hazardous   materials release; moreover, 15,000 visitors cross into the city   every day, at a time when drug-related violence on the other side of   the border is increasing; frontline emergency personnel also   respond to incidents on the Rio Grande, which is the chief source of   drinking water for many border communities, and to any bomb threats   reported on the international bridges, as well as to an ever-rising   number of other emergency calls in a growing community; and          WHEREAS, The Department of Homeland Security currently   awards its Targeted Infrastructure Capability grants largely on the   basis of metropolitan population, and with an estimated population   of about 255,000, Laredo does not meet the criteria for grants such   as the Urban Area Strategic Initiative or Port Security awards; and          WHEREAS, Laredo is smaller than other major United States   ports, and it has a much more limited budget for local agencies;   federal funds are desperately needed to ensure that emergency   responders can manage international threats to critical   infrastructure safely and efficiently; now, therefore, be it          RESOLVED, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas   hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to revise   Department of Homeland Security funding formulas for Targeted   Infrastructure Capability grants to emphasize threat assessment   for strategically located border communities, rather than   population; and, be it further          RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official   copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to   the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of   Representatives of the United States Congress, to the secretary of   the Department of Homeland Security, and to all the members of the   Texas delegation to Congress with the request that this resolution   be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to   the Congress of the United States of America.