Expressing the sense of the Senate on the value of the bilateral relationship between the United States and Mexico.

values the bilateral relationship between the United States and Mexico and the many benefits derived from cooperation on security, combating transnational crime, energy, economic engagement, and cultural engagement;

recognizes that implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994, and the resulting increase in trade, has provided a platform on which cooperation with Mexico on so many levels has been possible;

recognizes that Mexico is an essential partner for the United States in regional security and encourages the President to continue to strengthen ties between the United States and Mexico to help advance United States regional interests;

understands that the relationship between the United States and Mexico is strengthened by interaction between people from the United States and Mexico and economic interaction;

encourages United States drug enforcement agencies to continue developing strong cooperative measures with Mexico since efforts to stem the drug trade into the United States depend on Mexico’s cooperation because, among other matters, more than 90 percent of heroin in the United States comes from Mexico;

stresses the importance of the North American Free Trade Agreement to the United States economy and to the bilateral relationship between the United States and Mexico; and

encourages the President to work toward modernization of the North American Free Trade Agreement in a way that strengthens the Agreement so that it can continue to provide benefits to the peoples of the United States and Mexico and the important bilateral relationship between the United States and Mexico.