119th Congress Federal Priorities

Advancing Pro-Business Policy to Grow Houston’s Regional Economy

A thriving business environment that fosters economic development is critical to making Houston greater. In order to advance the Houston region, the Greater Houston Partnership supports policies that create a business environment attractive to leading global companies and skilled talent. During the 119th Congress, the Partnership will focus on this impact agenda addressing the most pressing issues facing the business community and the Houston region. We invite you to join us in advancing these solutions to strengthen the region’s long-term growth and provide opportunity for all. Together, we make Houston greater.

Executive Priorities

The Partnership has set priorities on the Coastal Texas Project, immigration and energy. Additional focus areas include resiliency, transportation, economic development, international trade and more.

Coastal Texas Project

The 2022 Water Resources and Development Act (WRDA) authorizes opportunities to advance the region’s infrastructure through navigation, flood and storm surge damage reduction, and ecosystem restoration projects. The Partnership is grateful for authorization and supports funding for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) Coastal Texas Program, which includes the development of a barrier flood gate and levee system designed to protect national security assets, economic vitality, and human life along the entire Texas coast.

The Partnership and the Texas business community support the efforts between the state’s congressional delegation, the Corps, and the non-federal sponsors – the Texas General Land Office (GLO) and the Gulf Coast Protection District (GCPD) – to continue moving this project toward design and construction. We request funding for the Coastal Texas Program. We request continuing contract authority so that the Corps can draw down a predictable amount of federal funds, particularly for the mission-critical gate system.

Preventative infrastructure projects, like the Coastal Texas Program, can help mitigate the devastation from a catastrophic storm surge and save tens of billions of dollars in disaster recovery funding by protecting vulnerable communities. The coastal barrier is also an investment in our national economic security. The Houston region is home to one of the largest concentrations of refining and petrochemical complexes in the world, and a storm’s direct hit to the unprotected ship channel would have devastating economic consequences across our nation.

Immigration

As America’s most diverse city, with nearly one in four residents foreign born, Houston’s diverse population plays a significant role in driving our region forward. The Partnership supports immigration reforms that meet the needs of greater Houston’s business community and the region as a whole. It is important to address immigration issues that have a disproportionate impact on our area to ensure talent is available to meet the needs of our companies.

The Partnership supports broad immigration reforms that deliver a final resolution for DACA recipients, secure the southern border, and streamline, expand, and modernize worker visa programs.

The federal responsibility in addressing these issues is clear and explicit. Texas businesses need clear, consistent immigration policies to support and drive local economies. The Greater Houston Partnership encourages national policymakers and leaders to actively seek resolution to these issues and foster an environment welcoming of immigrants and supportive of business needs. Leaders should work to protect and promote our nation’s borders, people, and economy.

Energy & Energy Transition

As the Energy Capital of the World, the Partnership and its member companies pursue federal policies with a unique impact on Houston’s position as the Energy Capital of the World. Through leveraging members’ expertise, the Partnership works with policymakers to advance the region’s energy competitiveness and secure Houston’s position as a leader in energy job creation and economic opportunity.

The Partnership launched the Houston Energy Transition Initiative (HETI) and has been working with stakeholders at the local, state, and federal level to align policies for an energy-abundant, low-carbon future. Through this initiative, the Partnership embraces an “all-of-the-above” approach to meeting growing global demand for energy while lowering emissions. This is a dual challenge with tremendous opportunity in developing and scaling technologies, creating and servicing markets for the global energy mix, and investing in the future energy system.

The Partnership is committed to bringing this message to Congress and working with lawmakers to utilize Houston’s leadership and advance its energy competitiveness.

To learn more about HETI and the low-carbon value chain in greater Houston, check out the resources here

Priority Issues

Houston Ship Channel Expansion

The Partnership supports the widening and deepening of the Houston Ship Channel to provide safe and efficient transit for each vessel traversing the busiest deep-draft trade waterway in the nation. The greater Houston business community requests funding and revisions in WRDA to Navigation Construction and Operations and Maintenance Cost-Share formulas for design studies, upgrades, deepening/widening and maintenance to Port Houston.

In particular, we support the authorization of the Project 12 deepening study. While current law allows for the project to be studied without Congressional authorization, if the Corps does not agree, we will support the Port in seeking to authorize the study in the next WRDA bill. The Partnership also requests that the Navigation Cost-Share of 75/25 is increased up to 55-feet and the additional 10 percent requirement is eliminated. Additionally, we request the Navigation Operation and Maintenance Cost-Share of 100 percent federal is increased up to 55-feet.

The Partnership looks forward to continuing to work collaboratively with the federal government, Port of Houston Authority, and private industry to ensure that Port Houston, the Houston Ship Channel and the 200 private and eight public terminals remain major economic generators – currently more than a $900 billion impact annually – for Texas and the nation.

International Trade & Investment

The Partnership supports free and fair international trade through accountable trade and investment agreements. The Houston region is a global logistics hub where 17% of the economy and 330,000 jobs are directly tied to exports. Supporting open international trade and international investment agreements creates jobs in the region while securing a strong and diverse economy.

As the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) undergoes mandatory review in 2026, the Partnership continues to support the modernization of North American trade rules that align industry and workforce needs with the United States’ primary trade partners. USMCA is critical to the economic strength, diversity, and future of the Houston region.

Transportation

The Partnership supports federal funding and competitive resources to meet the region’s transportation needs. Given the interdependency of our regional, national, and international markets, maximizing the region’s economic prosperity depends on efficiently moving goods and people throughout the region.

The surface transportation reauthorization is a critical juncture for Congress to address key issues impacting our nation’s transportation network. The Partnership supports leveraging strategic transportation investments to propel economic growth and improve connectivity across the region.

Regional Resiliency

The Partnership supports federal policies, programs, and investment that strengthen resilience in the region and across its critical systems, including power, healthcare, transportation, telecommunications, flood control, and water. Resilience initiatives help ensure that essential services are prepared for disruption and able to recover quickly, address shared challenges, and build capacity. These efforts safeguard jobs, protect public safety, and sustain the economic vitality and quality of life of greater Houston.

The Partnership has brought together critical system owners, private sector stakeholders, and government partners to engage in solution-focused discussions to identify shared challenges, interdependencies, and opportunities and to drive coordinated action that strengthened resilience across Houston.

Education & Workforce

The Partnership supports federal investment in the Houston region’s higher education institutions to ensure the current and future workforce meets the needs of the economy and accesses rewarding careers. The Partnership plays a leading role in improving regional coordination and alignment between industry, the public workforce system, public schools, higher education institutions and community-based organizations to produce the talent for a 21st century economy. The Partnership also supports policies to increase access to reliable and affordable broadband connectivity, which is essential for every individual’s education, employment, healthcare, and participation in the economy.

Economic Development