CUELLAR WORKING TO GET NEW FEDERAL COURTHOUSE FOR MCALLEN

U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar hopes to replicate the success he had in getting millions of dollars for a new federal courthouse in San Antonio, this time to assist McAllen.

The Laredo Democrat says he has met with various federal officials to get the ball rolling.

“My focus in 2016 is going to be on appropriations. With other folks, such as (U.S.) Senator (John) Cornyn, I was able to get $135 million for a San Antonio courthouse. I am now focusing on McAllen,” Cuellar said, in an interview with reporters at his district office in Mission.

“I spoke to Judge (Ricardo) Hinojosa, as well as the judge that handles the judicial courts nationwide. I spoke with GSA and we are going to start the process to see if we can build a new courthouse here in McAllen. We were able to fund all the courthouses that were waiting in line. I have talked to GSA and they said you can make a big case why we need it in McAllen – security.”

GSA stands for the General Services Administration. Its director for the greater southwest region is Sylvia L. Hernandez, whom Cuellar has met with. Hernandez oversees all of GSA activities in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas, including management of federal real estate and information technology.

Much of the discussion with reporters focused on Cuellar’s recent visit to Costa Rica, where he discussed what he called the “Cuban migrant crisis.” More than 8,000 Cuban migrants have been stranded in Central America because, Cuellar said, Nicaragua, Belize and Guatemala have shut their borders. The Cubans are trying to reach the United States through its southwest border. Cuellar said the majority of those that make it will enter via Laredo. Cuellar visited Costa Rica with Congresswoman Kay Granger of Fort Worth and U.S. Ambassador to Costa Rica S. Fitzgerald Haney.

Cuellar also discussed his legislative agenda for 2016. He said much of his work will be on the House Committee on Appropriations because that is where the money originates.

“I found out in Congress that legislation is very hard to pass but there is one thing that has to pass every year and that is the appropriations bill. Since I sit on appropriations, all I have to do is convince the group I work with as opposed to getting it on the House floor and convincing everybody,” Cuellar said.

Each member of the appropriations committee tends to have a country they focus on, Cuellar said. He said his focus has always been on Mexico and Central America.

“On appropriations, I will continue working on Mexico, Central America, on homeland (security), transportation, border infrastructure. I do have a piece of legislation, I did it in appropriations but I want to put it into law, and that is to have more student exchanges between the U.S. and Mexico. Universities are doing this right now but if we can say this is a federal law I think that will go a long way also,” Cuellar said.

Cuellar said he was particularly pleased to help Hispanic-serving higher education institutions.

“I went through every appropriations bill and if they did not have Hispanic serving institutions listed I added the language. That way all the major federal agencies will work with Hispanic serving institutions. The black ones were there. My language said agencies, such as the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, all of them, you are going to be working with Hispanic serving institutions.”

Cuellar was also asked about his efforts to get a new high speed rail line into South Texas. He said a study of high speed rail across Texas currently being conducted by the Texas Department of Transportation had been delayed because some state lawmakers tried to insert a rider in the state appropriations bill to stop high speed rail projects being undertaken by public-private partnerships.

“There was a rider that said no public-private partnerships between Houston and Dallas. That put a hold on the study. For South Texas study started off with Corpus Christi, Brownsville, McAllen, and Colombia Laredo. They (TxDOT) narrowed it down to McAllen and Laredo. Eventually, I hope they do both. The one that goes into Mexico will probably be the Laredo one. Why? Because Mexico already has the right of way,” Cuellar said.

Cuellar said that just before his meeting with reporters he was on the phone with stakeholders interested in getting a high speed rail line from Austin to San Antonio. “They said there is a study that will come out from the Texas Department of Transportation that says the amount of ridership that Monterrey – what is their population, four and a half million? – will create is incredible and will help them there.”

Cuellar said the anti-public-private partnership rider never made it into the appropriations bill but it did delay the TxDOT study. “Hopefully, by this summer the report will come out. We have got to get together with Mexico because at present we can do cargo trains. I added some language that says the federal government should work with the state government and Mexico in setting up the protocols for passenger trains also.”

Asked when he will learn more about the study, Cuellar said: “I am supposed to sit down with them (the stakeholders interested in the Austin-San Antonio leg of the high speed rail route) next week and get that. They are looking at Monterrey as the powerhouse for this line.”

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