Action to bring economic development to the US Mexico border is making its way through Congress by the expansion and enhancement of the NADBank.

The North American Development Bank (NADBank) was created out of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1993 to address environmental concerns that the members of Congress had and ensure precautions and measures were taken to have environmentally sound region in the U.S.-Mexico border.

The introduction of the “NADBank Enhancement Act of 2011”, allows the two governments to work together to add more benefits along the border region such as infrastructure, transportation and Ports of Entry improvements. The proposed legislation would inject new criteria into the mandate and open the NADBank to finance new infrastructure projects. According to the text of the bill “(3) change the purposes and functions of the Bank, including changes that would allow the Bank to finance infrastructure projects in the border region that promote growth in trade and commerce between the United States and Mexico, support sustainable economic development, reduce poverty, foster job creation, and promote social development in the region.’”