Senator Elliot Shapleigh

To make Texas attractive to industry

To make Texas attractive to industry, our state must be competitive, moving people and products across the border, faster, smarter and safer. The key task is to weed out potentially-dangerous traffic and ease unnecessary burdens on individual and commercial movement. We must keep in mind that the vast majority of cross-border traffic is legitimate.

Trade with Mexico supports one in five Texas jobs, and exports to Mexico make up approximately 14 percent of the state�s gross product. In 1999, $100 billion in two-way commercial vehicle trade crossed the Texas-Mexico border alone. There are 23 international crossings that bridge Texas� 2,000-mile border with Mexico; 725,000 northbound trucks crossed El Paso�s border in 2001.

The El Paso region I represent is a major international port, a three-state and two-nation metroplex rich in opportunity. El Paso sits at the center of I-10, a major cross-country artery that stretches from the Pacific to the Atlantic; U.S. 54, a direct link to Chicago that is the preferred route for truckers; the I-20 route to Dallas; and rail in four directions. 62 million people cross our border ever year. Our airport boasts the largest and most complex air cargo facility on the U.S.-Mexico border. Our location, right in the center of the all-weather southern route across the U.S., means we are 24 hours from any destination north or south in a just-in-time world.

To harness this potential, we must tell the story every day that our city is one of the safest cities in America and use the tools carefully crafted by our state legislators to build key infrastructure and state-of-the-art technology to facilitate the movement that will take full advantage of Texas� and El Paso�s strategic position on the border.

Congressman Silvestre Reyes

I applaud the Associated Security Services and Investigators of the State of Texas, Inc. for choosing the El Paso community as the host for its 2007 state conference, Security on the Borders. I have had the honor of representing El Paso in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1997, and know that our community will provide you with the ideal setting in which to discuss the security issues facing our nation�s borders. The El Paso-Juarez region is the largest international border community in the world, and the challenges and success experienced here in ensuring the safe flow of people and goods through our ports of entry, are timely topics for this year�s ASSIST conference.

As a U.S. Border Patrol veteran of more than 26 years, and as the chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, I am strongly aware of the important issues facing professionals in your line of work. As a sector chief in the U.S. Border Patrol, I instituted several initiatives to control our borders, including Operation Hold the Line, which are still in effect today under the Department of Homeland Security. Throughout my tenure in congress, I have worked closely with my colleagues in the House of Representatives to help ensure that our law enforcement agencies have the necessary tools to safeguard our nation�s security. I also consider it an extremely important responsibility to provide the men and women of our nation�s intelligence community with the resources necessary to protect our citizens against potential terrorist threats.

Using advanced technology and equipment to assist border agents in the performance of their duties is vital to the safety of our borders. From sensors to screening technology, I have always advocated for congress to devote the necessary federal funds for these needs. In fact, earlier this month, several of our nation�s top security officials met in El Paso to participate in the annual Border Security Conference, Securing and Managing Our Nation�s Borders, to discuss these and other issues. I worked closely with the University of Texas at El Paso to organize this conference, and was joined by Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell, Admiral James G. Stavridis of the U.S. Southern Command, and Admiral Thad Allen, commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, among others. These high-profile visitors to our city reflect the significance and strategic value of border communities such as El Paso.

Our ports of entry represent the first line of defense against potential terrorist threats, drug trafficking and human smuggling, and I applaud you for your contributions toward enhancing security in our region. I remain committed to providing security initiatives with the federal funding necessary for their success, and to crafting policy in the best interest of safety for American families. We have much to do, and I look forward to continuing our work together.