| 1 | 1 | | 85R26965 KSM-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Gutierrez H.R. No. 408 |
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| 3 | 3 | | Substitute the following for H.R. No. 408: |
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| 4 | 4 | | By: Ortega C.S.H.R. No. 408 |
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| 5 | 5 | | |
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| 6 | 6 | | |
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| 7 | 7 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 8 | 8 | | WHEREAS, Since its ratification in 1994, the North American |
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| 9 | 9 | | Free Trade Agreement has produced great opportunities for economic |
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| 10 | 10 | | growth and development in the United States and our bordering |
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| 11 | 11 | | countries; and |
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| 12 | 12 | | WHEREAS, According to the U.S. Census Bureau, American trade |
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| 13 | 13 | | with Canada and Mexico has tripled under NAFTA, reaching an annual |
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| 14 | 14 | | total of $1 trillion in 2015; Mexico is America's third-largest |
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| 15 | 15 | | export market for agricultural products, including corn, soybeans, |
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| 16 | 16 | | dairy, pork, and beef, and each year Texas sends about 36 percent of |
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| 17 | 17 | | the state's total exports to Mexico; furthermore, Canada is the |
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| 18 | 18 | | world's leading purchaser of U.S. goods; and |
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| 19 | 19 | | WHEREAS, NAFTA has benefited American workers by creating new |
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| 20 | 20 | | avenues for employment; a 2014 study conducted by the U.S. Chamber |
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| 21 | 21 | | of Commerce showed that nearly five million U.S. jobs, including |
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| 22 | 22 | | some 350,000 in Texas, are supported by increased trade from NAFTA; |
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| 23 | 23 | | in addition, 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies have investments |
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| 24 | 24 | | in Mexico; and |
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| 25 | 25 | | WHEREAS, NAFTA has had particularly profound and positive |
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| 26 | 26 | | implications for Texas; according to the U.S. Department of |
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| 27 | 27 | | Commerce, NAFTA has created over 190,000 export-related jobs in |
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| 28 | 28 | | Texas; the state has also seen a substantial increase in exports to |
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| 29 | 29 | | Canada and Mexico since NAFTA was enacted; and |
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| 30 | 30 | | WHEREAS, Through NAFTA, Canada and Mexico have become |
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| 31 | 31 | | America's largest and third-largest trading partners, |
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| 32 | 32 | | respectively; now, therefore, be it |
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| 33 | 33 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas |
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| 34 | 34 | | Legislature hereby respectfully urge Congress to work with the |
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| 35 | 35 | | president of the United States to improve and enhance the North |
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| 36 | 36 | | American Free Trade Agreement through modernization and the |
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| 37 | 37 | | recognition of new technological advancements in order to move |
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| 38 | 38 | | toward expanding economic opportunity for the betterment of our |
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| 39 | 39 | | country; and, be it further |
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| 40 | 40 | | RESOLVED, That the chief clerk of the house forward official |
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| 41 | 41 | | copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to |
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| 42 | 42 | | the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of |
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| 43 | 43 | | Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the |
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| 44 | 44 | | members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that |
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| 45 | 45 | | this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a |
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| 46 | 46 | | memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. |
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