WASHINGTON – Today during the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s hearing on the nomination of U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) to be U.S. Secretary of State under the incoming Trump administration, U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) discussed with Sen. Rubio his commitment to pressuring Mexico to fulfill its obligations under the Treaty Relating to the Utilization of Waters of the Colorado and Tijuana Rivers and of the Rio Grande and the need for outbound investment provisions like those introduced by Sen. Cornyn last Congress. Excerpts are below, and video can be found here.

On the U.S.-Mexico Water Treaty:

CORNYN: “I have complete confidence in your ability to lead the State Department.”

“[In] 1944, there was a water treaty between the United States and Mexico, and we have had chronic problems getting Mexico to cooperate and release the water that’s been absolutely critical to the life and the livelihood of our agriculture community in the Rio Grande Valley and elsewhere.”

“I would just like to get your commitment to work with us to try to just simply get Mexico to live up to its requirements under the treaty, and if they won’t do it voluntarily, to look for leverage and ways we can persuade them to do what they already have a legal obligation to do, which is to release water on a timely basis.”

RUBIO: “Absolutely… It has real implications not just for the state of Texas, but broadly for the United States.”

On Outbound Investment Transparency:

CORNYN: “As you know, the Senate has passed legislation providing for a reporting requirement for American companies who are investing in China.”

“I could care less whether American companies want to build more Burger Kings or Starbucks in China, but I do care if American companies are investing in dual-purpose technology or in ways that would undermine the national security of the United States. Do you share that concern?”

RUBIO: “Absolutely… You’re right. Every sector is not created equal, in terms of the threat they pose to our country, but at a minimum, we should have insight into whether American investment dollars—be the institutional or individual—are going through the funding of activities designed to undermine the United States of America. That’s a core national security interest.”