United States-Mexico Economic Partnership Act
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
I rise today in support of the U.S.-Mexico Economic Partnership Act authored by my good friend and fellow Texan, Mr. Cuellar.
As a native Texan, I know how critical the U.S.-Mexico relationship is to the prosperity and security of our two nations. And as the former chairman of the U.S.-Mexico IPG, I had the honor of leading congressional delegations to sit down with our Mexican counterparts to discuss bilateral issues, such as trade and security, and just recently went down for the President's inauguration. These legislative exchanges have been imperative for furthering the relationship between our two nations.
However, we must look beyond traditional and shared connections and foster cultural and academic partnerships and grow the U.S.-Mexico relationship among the younger generations. This bill achieves that goal by creating academic exchanges in the private sector that are focused on health and energy. This academic pipeline will strengthen our energy infrastructure and develop new generations of medical professionals who could work in both of our countries.
This bill complements the economic growth initiatives and the recently negotiated USMCA trade agreement, and it promotes the U.S.- Mexico relationship at the committee level.
Again, as I mentioned just a few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending the inauguration of President Lopez Obrador in Mexico City with many of my colleagues. Our two countries have had a very proud history together, and I think these are times, trying times, as the chairman mentioned, but I think that is why this bill is so important. I think we can have a brighter future together between our two nations. I urge my colleagues to support it to strengthen this relationship.
In closing, I would like to once again thank Mr. Cuellar for leading this message. Growing up in Texas, I dealt with our Mexican counterpart, their largest trading partner, have done a lot with Mexico. When I was in the Attorney General's Office, I met with Mexico periodically, and also as a Member of Congress.
This is an important relationship between our countries. While there have been moments of disagreement, I think it is important that our countries remain allies and we are friends with our neighbors to the south.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source