El Paso gears up for thousands of new soldiers
Published 9:00 pm Saturday, September 25, 2004
EL PASO, Texas – The relocation of thousands of soldiers to Fort Bliss over the next decade could revive the economy of El Paso, which has long been one of the nation’s poorest cities.
The Army announced in July that Fort Bliss, which has about 12,000 soldiers, would gain another 3,800 troops by 2006. The post could absorb up to 10,000 more over the next decade as part of President Bush’s plan to bring 70,000 soldiers home from overseas posts, according to Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, a Republican.
The first wave of troops would bring an estimated $586 million to the city’s economy each year, and more than 1,000 additional jobs, according to a University of Texas-El Paso study. The money would come from soldiers and their families buying homes, paying taxes and purchasing goods and services.
El Paso, a city of about 563,000 where the median household income in 1999 was $31,051, has struggled to replace lost jobs as its textile businesses folded over the last decade and factories across the Mexico border lost ground to China and other countries offering cheaper labor. Some retailers closed their doors as the economy sputtered along and the best and brightest left seeking better opportunities.
Fort Bliss already represents about $1.7 billion, or 16.5 percent, of El Paso’s economy, said David Schauer, deputy director of UTEP’s Institute for Policy and Economic Development. That could double if nearly 14,000 soldiers relocate to El Paso within the next 10 years.
The city must be smart about how it handles the first wave of troops, officials said, or it risks losing future troop commitments. El Paso will spend the next two years building up housing, education, medical care, utilities, public safety and transportation to support its growing population, Schauer said.
El Paso Mayor Joe Wardy said city leaders are committed to working together to make the most of the Fort Bliss expansion. Politics and shortsightedness sabotaged past efforts to sell El Paso to industries looking to relocate, but Wardy said the city has learned from those mistakes.
