OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Border Crossing

Date: Oct. 24, 2003
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Immigration

BORDER CROSSING

Ms. COLLINS. I would like to thank the managers of the bill for their leadership on this important legislation, and I greatly appreciate their efforts to improve our Nation's transportation infrastructure.

Mr. SHELBY. I appreciate the Senator's support, and I thank her for her leadership.

Ms. COLLINS. I would like to make my colleagues aware of a project of great importance, not just to my constituents in Maine, but to the rest of the country as well. The existing border crossing connecting Calais, ME to St. Stephen, New Brunswick is heavily congested and therefore causes significant traffic delays and creates serious security concerns for U.S. and Canadian travelers and cross-border commerce. The current crossing is the eighth busiest commercial crossing on the Canadian border and has seen truck traffic double over the last 10 years. Since 199 the Maine Department of Transportation, along with the Federal Highway Administration and the General Services Administration, has engaged in a comprehensive National Environmental Policy Act, NEPA, process to determine the location for a new, modern, efficient border crossing. As part of the overall project, the General Services Administration is responsible for designing and constructing a new border station. The Canadian Customs and Revenue Agency, CCRA, will be responsible for the design and construction of the border station on the Canadian side of the river. The Maine Department of Transportation and New Brunswick Department of Transportation, and the Canadian Customs and Revenue Agency have funding in place for their portions of the design. Therefore, it is crucial that funding for the GSA portion of the project be appropriated so that design and construction work can begin as soon as possible. I would ask that the Senator from Alabama work with me to ensure that this project moves forward as quickly as possible. Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.

Mr. SHELBY. I acknowledge the Senator's request, and I pledge to work with her on this matter.

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