SAN ANTONIO – U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) and U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) are celebrating after a new deal secured water shipments from Mexico for South Texas.
On Tuesday, the senator's offices announced that a new deal, brokered between the Trump administration and Mexico, would bring Mexico in compliance with the 1944 Water Treaty, providing South Texas with an average of 350,000 acre-feet of water every year over 5 years. Senator Cruz said in a statement that Mexico had been failing to provide reliable, annual deliveries, leading to a devastating shortfall across the United States. “Mexico’s failures to uphold its water obligations have been devastating to Texas farmers and cities, said Cruz.
"I have been fighting for years to secure those deliveries, including by advancing sanctions legislation in the United States Senate and by emphasizing to both American and Mexican officials that the U.S.-Mexico relationship cannot proceed productively unless Mexico meets its obligations. Recently, I worked with Secretary Rollins to secure a $280 million grant to provide critical economic relief in the Rio Grande Valley, but that was only, and explicitly, a stopgap measure. Cruz praised the Trump administration for their work in addressing the matter, primarily with the administration's insistence that international partners meet their obligations to the United States.
“Today’s announcement demonstrates that under the Trump administration and the Republican Congress, the United States will insist that other nations meet their obligations to Americans. It will provide critical relief to Texans and establish a basis for the further necessary work that must be done to assure Texas farmers of reliable and predictable water supplies." Senator John Cornyn released a public statement on the deal after having met with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, and discussing the deal that relates the the utilization of water from both the Colorado and Tijuana Rivers, as well as the Rio Grande by ranchers and farmers across South Texas.
“South Texas has been devastated by Mexico’s repeated refusal to deliver the water it has owed the United States for far too long, and I commend the Trump administration for securing this critical deal for Mexico to finally send water to the region,” said Cornyn. “This new agreement will bring substantial amounts of acre-feet of water to the U.S., and I thank President Trump, Secretary Rubio, Secretary Rollins, and Deputy Secretary Landau for their leadership after years of the Biden administration sitting on its hands and letting Texans suffer.” Sen. Cornyn continued to voice his commitment to maintaining the deliveries into the future, ensuring that both parties continue to hold up their end of the 1944 water Treaty. “I will continue working alongside President Trump and his administration to push Mexico for consistent, annual deliveries to live up to its obligations under the 1944 Water Treaty and ensure our South Texas agriculture community has the resources needed to thrive.” The statement issued by Senator Cornyn alleges that the irregular water shipments have proved disastrous for South Texas agricultural industry, with a sugar cane mill along the Rio Grande having closed due to an insufficient supply of water.
