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De La Cruz Secures Language to Withhold Funds from Mexico for Failure to Comply with 1944 Water Treaty

WASHINGTON, June 5, 2024 | Ryan Saylor (771-200-0819)
UPDATE: The FY25 Foreign Operations appropriations bill passed out of the full committee today, June 12th and included Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz's language to withhold funds from Mexico until it meets its obligations under the 1944 water treaty.

Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz thanks Subcommittee Chairman Mario Diaz-Balart for his leadership on this issue. She also thanks Appropriations Committee Member Rep. Henry Cuellar for his support and that of the Texas Congressional delegation, including Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz.

ORIGINAL RELEASE upon passage out of subcommittee last week:

 

Language that withholds funds from Mexico for failing to comply with the 1944 Water Treaty passed a legislative hurdle on Tuesday, June 4th.

The FY25 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Bill passed out of subcommittee Tuesday. It includes language withholding funding until Mexico’s government meets its obligations to provide water to the United States under the treaty. As of late May 2024, Mexico is in deficit by more than 870,000 acre-feet of water owed to the United States.

“As the representative of a large agricultural district disproportionately hurt by the Mexican government’s failure to comply with the 1944 Water Treaty, I’ve taken decisive action to protect our farmers,” De La Cruz said. “I’ve introduced bipartisan legislation that demands action at the highest levels of the U.S. government, and I’ve met with the U.S. Secretary of State and the U.S. ambassador to Mexico. Now, I’ve secured language in the appropriations bill that explicitly withholds funding until Mexico complies with the treaty. This bill sends a clear message: if the Mexican government thinks it can starve us of our water and put our farmers out of business, they are sorely mistaken. Withholding funding will highlight to everyday Mexicans their government’s failure to adhere to binding international agreements. In Congress, I won’t stop putting pressure on Mexico’s government until its leaders admit their mistakes and come to the table to make this right for Texas farmers and American consumers caught in the middle.”