Honoring the 10 Communities Selected tor Receive the 2004 All-America City Award

HONORING THE 10 COMMUNITIES SELECTED TO RECEIVE THE 2004 ALL-AMERICA CITY AWARD -- (House of Representatives - October 06, 2004)

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 464) honoring the 10 communities selected to receive the 2004 All-America City Award.

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Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for the time, and I am pleased to join in support of this resolution.

The All-America City Award is the oldest and most prestigious community recognition program in this Nation, and I am particularly pleased that this year one of the cities chosen, the only city chosen from the State of Texas, is right on our U.S.-Mexican border, and that is the city of Hidalgo.

Hidalgo is quite literally a representation of America's future. With a population that is nearly 98 percent Hispanic, Hidalgo is at the forefront of a demographic that is occurring rapidly in many of our Nation's cities. Also, with nearly half of its residents in elementary, middle or high school, Hidalgo is today comprised of the youth that will be the leaders of America tomorrow.

Hidalgo is one of the oldest cities in the State of Texas, and it started as a small trading post and ferry landing opposite Reynosa, Mexico, many years ago. Over the years, it has grown to the fourth largest U.S. port of entry, a major entry point for trade and commerce from throughout two continents and a city that is intimately involved with our country's relationship with Mexico.

Hidalgo is often the first taste of America for many visitors to this country. This, combined with the fact that it is one of the country's southernmost cities, makes it not surprising that Hidalgo is sometimes referred to as being "where the U.S. begins."

The city has flourished under the leadership of very committed city council members Alvin Samano, Dan Dillard, Pedro Fonseca, and Siglinde Franz. Their hard work and dedication to serving the people of Hidalgo has contributed much to the community's success. Hidalgo works because Hidalgo works together.

Unfortunately, as a gateway to the United States, many people have seen Hidalgo only in traveling through it. Now, the people of this fine city have done much, through innovation and hospitality, to make Hidalgo a destination.

Project: Tour Hidalgo, a comprehensive and collaborative initiative that focuses resources, ideas, the spirit of volunteerism and community outreach, has increased tourism, tourism that focuses on the culture of Mexico and the United States, on ecotourism, a number of hike-and-bike trails to be built along the border and, of course, the many other aspects of the city that come alive during the holiday season.

I remember last year at the great Posada, with the Grammy-award-winning Hidalgo resident, Ramon Ayala, that we had around 7- or 8,000 spectators. It was quite a happening, and it drew people throughout Texas to share in the joy of the holiday season.

Borderfest also pulls in not only Texans but winter Texans from all over the country for a 4-day festival in March. Last year, about 50,000 people participated, five times the population of the city. It begins appropriately with an abrazo at the international bridge between the mayor of Hidalgo and the mayor of Reynosa, indicating the close relationship between the two countries.

In the 1980s, when advancements in technology made the city's old irrigation pumphouses obsolete, it was preserved as a museum that is now recognized by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

With a sense of humor to accompany the other pleasant qualities of this community, when a few years ago it was noted that Hidalgo was the first place that the Africanized honey bee came, instead of avoiding this apparent bit of trouble, the city created a 10-foot-tall, 2,000-pound, full-color statue of the feared killer bee, and since that time the killer bee statue has become a tourist attraction. The Killer Bees became the name of the professional hockey team at the far southern edge of the United States. That is one winning team.

At the same time, Hidalgo has made substantial and impressive efforts to improve the standard of living for its residents. Almost half of all the families in Hidalgo are sustained on incomes below the poverty level.

It has been a long-time goal of the city to attract industries that will provide its citizens with a living wage. That is why the city created Team Hidalgo, a program through which the city and private businessmen and -women work with economic development experts and nonprofit groups to improve the economy of the area. To date, Team Hidalgo's greatest achievement has been the development of Dodge Arena, the spectacular 7,000 seat facility that is now drawing people throughout south Texas not only to the winning Killer Bees hockey team and an arena football team, but to a number of high-profile entertainment activities.

The students of Hidalgo spend their days in schools run by two separate and quality school districts, the Valley View Independent School District led by Superintendent Leonel Galaviz and School Board President and the Hidalgo Independent School District, led by Superintendent Daniel King and School Board President Noe Reyes. These are school districts with leadership on their boards and in the administration that devote their efforts to educational excellence.

The city is one that I hope to represent beginning in January. It is a place that I have visited a number of times and with whose leadership I have continued to work on a number of local projects. It is wonderful that the National Civic League has recognized these fine attributes of the community by naming it an All-America City.

As the city said in its application, despite being closer to Mexico than it is to many other cities in the United States, Hidalgo is truly all-American.

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