Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) announced Thursday a bipartisan victory after red tape efforts to speed up the approval process for international bridge projects were signed into law as part of the National Defense Authorization Act. praised.
Mr. Cruz touted this as a victory not just for Texas but for the country.
“This is a huge victory for South Texas, all of Texas and the country,” Cruz told Fox News Digital after a news conference in Laredo, Texas. “This is a win for Texas farmers and ranchers. It's a win for small businesses and manufacturers. It's a win for consumers who will get cheaper prices at grocery and department stores. It's a win for national security. ”
Mr. Cruz spearheaded an effort to streamline the presidential permitting process for building an international bridge on the southern border with Mexico.
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Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) leads bipartisan coalition (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
The bill gives the State Department a 60-day period to recommend to the president whether to grant a bridge permit. This would give the president an additional 60 days to approve or disapprove. Presidential permits will now be granted before an environmental assessment is completed, rather than after it is completed, as was the practice under the Biden administration. Business leaders said this led to years of delays.
Cruz was joined in this effort by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). Rep. Tony Gonzalez, R-Texas. Rep. Monia de la Cruz, R-Texas. Congressman Henry Cuellar, D-Texas. Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (Democrat of Texas). The bill also has support from a number of business groups, whose representatives attended a news conference in Laredo to emphasize the importance of the project.
This streamlining will immediately impact the status of multiple construction projects in the South Texas region, including the construction of a new bridge and the expansion of two other bridges, such as the World Trade Bridge in Laredo.
Cruz said he has been fighting to speed up the permitting process since 2021, when Laredo city leaders noted that new environmental requirements were creating hurdles in the approval process for several bridge projects.
“The plans for all four of us were delayed by several years, but it didn't make sense,” he said.
He worked with lawmakers from both parties to urge the administration to change direction in its review policy. When that didn't change, he introduced legislation that was included as an amendment to state licensing laws and eventually attached to the NDAA. It was signed by President Biden in December.
“This bill went to the House of Representatives and there were many fights over this provision, and there were at least six times where it looked like this provision would be removed from the law,” Cruz said. Ta. “But I worked very closely with Democrat Henry Cuellar from Laredo to defeat those efforts, and ultimately the House passed the NDAA with this provision in an overwhelming bipartisan vote. President Biden signed the bill into law on December 22nd. ”
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As a result, the bridge is expected to receive a permit if approved by late April.
Cruz said manufacturing is increasingly leaving China and moving to the United States or Mexico.
“So this has a huge impact,” Cruz said. “And there are tens of thousands of jobs in Texas that are directly related to this impact and will grow as a result.”
Trucks cross the World Trade International Bridge in Laredo, Texas, June 10, 2019. (Callaghan O'Hare/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
He also argued that a streamlined process would be better for the environment, and that expanding the World Trade Bridge from eight to 18 lanes would ease traffic congestion.
“On any given day, you walk up to that bridge and there's a line of 18-wheelers stretching four, five, six miles on the Mexican side, sitting there for hours spewing pollutants into the ocean. “I see it. It's air,” he said. “It’s much better for the environment if trucks can move quickly across bridges rather than being stuck in unnecessary queues.”
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For Mr. Cruz, this is the latest bipartisan legislative effort he has shepherded through Congress, and he emphasized his collaboration with lawmakers, including Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D.N.M.). Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz. Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia spoke about issues such as infrastructure and semiconductor manufacturing.
“So while there are certainly areas where we can work together, there are also, unfortunately, areas where there are still substantial and significant partisan rifts regarding the policies that both parties are pursuing,” he said.
