I-27 Numbering Act of 2023

Mr. President, I rise today to pass the I-27 Numbering Act, bipartisan legislation to officially designate the route between Laredo, TX, and Raton, NM, as the future Interstate 27.

I will say I am particularly gratified that the Senator from New Mexico is presiding because this is legislation that he and I offered together. It is bipartisan legislation that is supported by the State of Texas and the State of New Mexico.

This bill is the next step to advance major highway infrastructure in Texas and New Mexico that will support trade and commerce and jobs and economic development.

What is so important about a future interstate number?

By officially designating the highways between Laredo and Raton as future Interstate 27, this bill is a clear signal to the communities and businesses across Texas and New Mexico that Congress supports their work to develop the current highways to become part of the Interstate System.

Communities across this route need better infrastructure because of the increasing demands to move goods and people. Last year, Mexico was the top U.S. trade partner, with $798 billion of trade between our nations. That is higher than the trade with our second and third biggest trading partners, Canada and China.

Even better, the port of entry in Laredo, TX, was the top trade gateway in the United States, outperforming the Port of Los Angeles-- Laredo, TX. This is fantastic news for Texas. It means more jobs and economic development in Texas to move those goods. It is also part of a broader trend of a flourishing freight business in Texas.

Last year, I was proud to pass bipartisan, bicameral legislation to streamline the Presidential permit application process for bridges across the Rio Grande River in South Texas--four bridges: two in Laredo, one in Brownsville, one in Eagle Pass. And two of them are along the future I-27 route, the World Trade Bridge in Laredo, currently with 8 lanes--the proposal is to expand that to 18 lanes--and the Puerto Verde Bridge in Maverick County.

Passing the I-27 Numbering Act would support the increased trade we are expecting to come across those new bridges and those new lanes of traffic.

We have received letters of support for the I-27 Numbering Act from the Texas and New Mexico Departments of Transportation, the agencies tasked with building infrastructure along this route. We also have strong support from the Ports-to-Plains Alliance, which has worked so hard to bring the ports-to-plains route to reality. We have strong support from cities up and down the future Interstate 27.

Notably, the Texas Department of Transportation is working to improve infrastructure all along the future I-27. TxDOT currently has $5.5 billion in active projects along the route related to planning, engineering, and construction, including $481 million from the Texas Transportation Commission to upgrade parts of the route to a four-lane divided highway.

I want to thank Senator Lujan, who is presiding right now; Senator Cornyn, my colleague from Texas; and Senator Heinrich, your colleague from New Mexico, for working hand in hand with me on this bill. It is notable that all four Senators representing Texas and New Mexico are standing in unison with this bill because it is good for Texas, it is good for New Mexico, and it is good for the country.

There should be no objection to this bill. The Senate previously passed this bill unanimously in July of last year. It then passed the House, which made some very small technical changes in December of last year. And there were no substantive changes to the bill, which means there should be no objections here now. The Senate should pass the I-27 Numbering Act today.

Before I proceed, I want to yield to my colleague from Texas, Senator Cornyn.

Mr. President, as if in legislative session, I ask the Chair to lay before the Senate the message to accompany S. 992.

I move to concur in the House amendment, and I ask unanimous consent that the motion be agreed to and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

I yield the floor.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New Jersey for yielding, and I am thrilled to, once again, join forces with my close friend, ally, and champion for rural America, Henry Cuellar, to do some good not only for Texas or for the food, fuel, and fiber capital of the world, which is west Texas, but to provide energy dominance and agriculture security and independence for this great Nation of ours. That is no small thing for the hardworking, God- fearing, freedom-loving people in rural America.

Madam Speaker, I am not just talking about west Texas, where Henry and I are from; I am saying all up and down the backbone of the United States of America and heartland communities all the way from the largest inland port in Laredo, as the gentleman mentioned, to the Canadian border.

The ag and energy corridor is critical for our food security and energy independence, and it will more seamlessly and cost effectively and safely move that critical product to export terminals and markets around the world, giving our farmers, ranchers, and energy producers a much-needed advantage.

Mr. Cuellar and I worked together on many of the elements that I see as essential to the future prosperity of rural America. I always say, rural America is not just the energy basin and breadbasket, it is the backbone of America's traditional values.

Madam Speaker, again, I thank Mr. Cuellar for being such a loud and proud champion for these forgotten men and women. The formula is straightforward; namely, we need freer markets, less taxes and regulations. We need fairer trade deals for our producers and manufacturers.

Mr. Cuellar and I worked hand in hand on USMCA; a much better deal for these United States of America and especially the workers here, the best workers in the world here in the United States. It is a reliable farm bill safety net which we are working on. We have to get the next farm bill done so that we can provide stability in the ag economy and then, finally, critical infrastructure.

Mr. Cuellar and I have worked on new payment models for rural hospitals that provided greater access for these hardworking folks. Now we have got this artery from Laredo through my hometown of Plainview.

I grew up, Madam Speaker, not even a mile from I-27. To think that this project has come to fruition, at least on the Texas and New Mexico side, if we can connect those dots all the way to Canada, I think we are going to bless generations of not only folks in Laredo and the greater west Texas area, but we are going to bless Americans all over this country.

We have the lowest spend in terms of discretionary spending for families on food and a big part of that is our producers, but another piece is critical infrastructure.

Madam Speaker, I say hats off to Henry Cuellar, my Democrat co-lead. I thank Senators Cruz and Cornyn, the leads in the Senate. I also thank August Pfluger, Ronny Jackson, Teresa Fernandez, Troy Nehls, Lance Gooden, and then, of course, the folks from Ports-to-Plains led by John Osborne and James Beauchamp from Midland-Odessa who leads MOTRAN. We have a lot of partners here to make this a success, but what a great day for rural America.

Madam Speaker, in closing I just say, God bless my partner and friend, Henry Cuellar, and God bless those freedom-loving people working hard to feed and clothe the American people in rural America.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 992) to amend the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 to designate the Texas and New Mexico portions of the future Interstate-designated segments of the Port-to-Plains Corridor as Interstate Route 27, and for other purposes, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials in the Record on S. 992, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I am proud to rise in support of S. 992, the I-27 Numbering Act of 2023, a bipartisan bill that has passed the Senate.

The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure favorably reported companion legislation that amended a bill introduced by Congressman Jodey Arrington in November.

This legislation officially designates segments of the Ports-to- Plains Corridor of Texas, previously marked as a future Federal interstate route, as Interstate Route 27.

The Ports-to-Plains Corridor connects with other highways to span from the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas through our country's heartland to Alberta, Canada, and serves as a crucial infrastructure asset for American agricultural and energy accessibility. This designation will benefit farmers, ranchers, and producers across Texas and the country, boosting our trade economy.

Madam Speaker, I urge support for this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Pfluger).

Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Arrington).

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, again, I am proud to support this bipartisan legislation championed by my colleague Mr. Arrington of Texas here in the House, along with Mr. Cruz and Mr. Cornyn in the Senate.

Ports-to-Plains Corridor connects with other routes to span more than 2,300 miles across eight states. It connects significant agriculture and energy centers to the rest of our Nation, which relies on these industries.

This bill ensures congressional follow-through on this designation by formally naming segments of the corridor in Texas Interstate Route 27 and will contribute to the continuity of American advantages in agriculture, international trade, connectivity, and economic development.

Madam Speaker, I urge support of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 992 to officially designate the Texas and New Mexico portions of the future Interstate- designated segments of the Ports-to-Plains Corridor as Interstate Route 27.

The Ports-to-Plains Corridor is a significant north-south transportation corridor that will unlock transportation capabilities for the energy industry in the Permian Basin and enhance Texas' key economic engines of international trade, energy, and the largest agricultural production in the country.

This is a big deal for this part of the United States, specifically for Texas. Madam Speaker, when you think about energy security being national security, Interstate 27 is going to play a massive role in allowing the delivery of that energy not just to our country but also throughout the rest of the world.

In addition, food security is national security, and Interstate 27 will play a massive role in allowing the delivery of food to our own country.

This new designation literally paves the way for safer roads in West Texas, and clearly marks Midland and Odessa as the energy hub of our Nation.

Madam Speaker, I thank Chairman Jodey Arrington and Senator Ted

Cruz for their hard work and partnership on this important issue. I encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this legislation to make sure that we can continue to deliver energy and food throughout the United States.

Madam Speaker, I thank my good friend, Representative Norton, for her leadership on getting this bill to the floor, and I thank her for yielding to me.

I also thank my good friends, Mr. Pfluger and Mr. Arrington, for carrying this legislation along with Senator Cruz, Senator Lujan, and Senator Cornyn on the Senate side for their work on this important legislation.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this bill to designate a portion of the Ports-to-Plains Corridor as Interstate 27. I-27 starts in my hometown of Laredo, Texas, which ranks number one in trade of all the Nation's 450-plus airports, seaports, and border crossings. It starts off in Laredo, then goes up into west Texas and off to New Mexico.

In the fiscal year 2022 appropriations bill, I was able to secure language designating this as a future interstate making it eligible for Federal funding.

This bill today formally names it the I-27 in Texas and in New Mexico. Upgrading this route to an interstate will result in a $17.2 billion increase in the Texas GDP and 178,000 of new jobs.

I certainly urge my colleagues in the House to pass this bipartisan bill to support trade and growth in Texas and New Mexico. I see my good friend Mr. Arrington, and I thank him for his leadership in west Texas. I am glad that we are able to connect Laredo with west Texas and onto New Mexico.