To ensure that United States diplomats and officials of the U.S. Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission are able to advance efforts seeking compliance by the United Mexican States with the 1944 Treaty on Utilization of Waters of the Colorado and Tijuana Rivers and of the Rio Grande.
About This Bill
Committee
Latest Action · May 2, 2024
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
This bill directs the Secretary of State to use U.S. diplomatic resources and leverage to pressure Mexico into complying with a 1944 water-sharing treaty covering the Colorado, Tijuana, and Rio Grande rivers. Under the treaty, Mexico is obligated to deliver at least 350,000 acre-feet of water annually to the United States, but as of March 2024 had delivered less than 400,000 acre-feet of the 1,750,000 acre-feet owed for the five-year period ending in October 2025. The bill specifically affects farmers and agricultural interests in the Lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas, where irrigation water shortages have persisted since the 1990s and are estimated to cause nearly $500 million in direct revenue losses in 2024, including the closure of Texas's only sugar mill. The legislation does not authorize new funding or establish specific timelines, but instead mandates that the State Department prioritize Mexico's treaty compliance in diplomatic negotiations, particularly regarding an agreement known as a Minute to the Treaty that the two countries have been negotiating.
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