Kent Conrad: “Mr. President, we have followed with interest the development of S. 1173, the ISTEA II legislation. We have been…”

“Mr. President, we have followed with interest the development of S. 1173, the ISTEA II legislation. We have been especially interested in Section 1116, which provides planning and border project implementation grants to improve the movement of products and at international border crossings with Mexico and Canada, and along significant transportation trade corridors. As you will recall, in 1994, Congress established the Northern Great Plains Rural Development Commission to develop a ten-year plan for the economic future of our region. One of the priorities of the Commission is developing a transportation strategy for the region. One important aspect of that strategy is the proposal to designate the Red River Trade Corridor--a multi-state corridor that includes Interstate 29 and Interstate 35--as an official national trade corridor under Section 1116.”