IS GBEDC SHOOTING BLANKS IN "PIE IN THE SKY" SPACE DEFENSE "VISION" BID?

Jovanna Rangel, senior director of defense and space affairs for Greater Brownsville Economic Development Corporation., and GBEDC Director Gilbert Salinas.

By Juan Montoya

On its face, it sounds like a natural next step for the fledgling space-related manufacturing and engineering hub sprouting in South Texas, specifically, Brownsville.

Since SpaceX is already here launching its prototype craft in preparation for man's return to the moon and Saronic Technologies has agreed to come to the Port of Brownsville to establish its maritime drone manufacturing plant, it seemed the natural next to pour development money to promote the "vision" to establish an "ecology" for a defense and space zone to" protect these emerging strategic assets before vulnerabilities become challenges."

In an address permeated with space-related and defense buzzwords, senior director of defense and space affairs Greater Brownsville Economic Development Corporation (GBEDC, formerly the GBIC) Jovanna Rangel, appeared before the Texas House Committee on Homeland Security, Public Safety and Veterans’ Affairs to push the "vision."

"I'm here today on behalf of our president, CEO Gilberto Salinas, and our board of directors. I appreciate the committee's attention to this important interim charge and the opportunity to share what we are seeing on the ground in one of Texas' fastest-growing aerospace and defense regions. 

"The Greater Brownsville EDC is a regional economic development organization responsible for attracting investment, supporting business expansion, developing industrial sites, and creating opportunities that strengthen our regional economy," she told committee members. 

"Today, one of our highest priorities is building a defense and space ecosystem that positions Brownsville as a strategic asset for both Texas and our nation...We're intentionally building an ecosystem that supports aerospace, maritime, advanced manufacturing, autonomous systems, and national defense. That includes the planning of infrastructure necessary to support the next generation of strategic industries."

As romantic as this sounds, Rangel and her GBEDC bosses and board seem to be ignoring something. the GBEDC is the city's Type A economic-development corporation, which administers a dedicated ¼-cent local sales tax operating solely with Brownsville sales-tax revenue. It is supposed to attract industry to provide good-paying jobs to local residents, not outside scientists and engineers.

And there is a major difference between announcing a "vision" and having a project capable of attracting state or federal defense-and-space funding.

What are the taxpayers funding, a project or a dream? 

Just because SpaceX is next to the City of Brownsville, its expertise does not automatically become GBEDC’s expertise because SpaceX happens to operate nearby. Likewise, Saronic's announced coming to the Port of Brownsville doesn't either. And, more importantly, who are its academic partners in research and development and defense expertise and necessary infrastructure?

In her remarks, Rangel touted the GBEDC "vision" and informed committee members of the organization's efforts to establish a defense and space zone – "a place where industry, innovation, workforce, and infrastructure come together to support both economic growth and national security objectives."

As part of that effort, she said, GBEDC has spent the last several months engaging with "partners" at every level of government. 

"In Washington, D.C., We have met with the Department of Defense, including the Office of Small Business Programs, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Homeland Security, NASA, and the National Defense of Industrial Association..." 

   

The GBEDC, she said, is "actively engaged with growing pipelines of aerospace, maritime, and defense-related prospects, evaluating opportunities in our region. These conversations reinforce that Brownsville is becoming increasingly attractive for industries that contribute to our nation's defense and industrial base."

Putting aside the rhetoric, has Rangel and GBEDC Director Gilbert Salinas and the board compared the qualities between Brownsville and another competitor for a similar zone? Look at what's happened with El Paso's Borderplex  application.

The Borderplex Alliance has operated since 2013 and has spent years building economic-development experience. And when specialized expertise was required, it used outside specialists. Its senior economic-development leadership includes engineering and manufacturing experience. Ultimately brought forward something more substantial than a vision:

El Paso's Space Innovation Hub contemplated using U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command personnel and had government, private-sector and academic participation. It also contemplated capital improvements and included plans for a specialized SCIF — a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility for sensitive/classified work.

Then Borderplex Alliance received a conditional Texas Space Commission approval of $19.758 million for its Space Innovation Hub.. 

El Paso had more than a decade of organizational experience, outside specialized expertise, a defined
Space Innovation Hub, a Space Force connection, a specialized secure facility, an identified use for the money, and a conditional approval approaching $20 million. Even then, the original funding mechanism didn't work. 

Texas’ original Space Exploration and Aeronautics Research Fund (SEARF) request was approximately $3.4 Billion, but only $150 million was originally appropriated and committed across 24 projects to recipients include organizations such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, Firefly Aerospace, Axiom Space, Intuitive Machines, UT Austin and Rice University. These organizations did not compete with a vision alone. They brought combinations of engineers, scientists, technology, facilities, research institutions, federal relationships and defined projects.

Then the original award was revoked. El Paso's Borderplex had to return through a different Direct Award process before the $19.758 million grant was ultimately executed. El Paso was far beyond simply announcing an idea, and its still encountered a major funding obstacle.

That is the competition against BEDC's "vision."

What does Brownsville have?

SpaceX received up to $7.5 million from the Texas Space Commission for its Gigabay Starship facility at Starbase, not Brownsville or the GBEDC. SpaceX received the money, not Brownsville, not the GBEDC. Not the proposed Defense and Space Zone. SpaceX developed the technology, employs the engineers, built the experience. SpaceX qualified for the award. not GBEDC.

Yes, SpaceX is an extraordinary regional asset, as will be Saronic. But SpaceX’s expertise does not automatically become GBEDC’s expertise because SpaceX happens to operate nearby. And Saronic actually helps demonstrate the difference between a vision and a real project. It has a defense-technology company. It has technology. It has products. It has engineers. It has defense customers and federal relationships. And it is developing Port Alpha at the Port of Brownsville.

Having SpaceX and Saronic in the region is unquestionably an economic advantage. But their qualifications do not automatically transfer to an economic-development corporation.

Having a hospital in your city does not make the EDC a medical expert. Having a manufacturing plant does not make the EDC a manufacturing engineer. And having SpaceX and Saronic nearby does not automatically make an EDC an expert in aerospace engineering, defense acquisition, DoD contracting, cybersecurity, ITAR/export controls, classified facilities or space systems.

So the questions for GBEDC are straightforward:

What defense and space expertise does GBEDC itself possess? What qualified specialists has it hired or formally partnered with? What defense or space projects has it successfully developed? What federal mission has it secured? What contracts has it secured?

What state or federal funding has been awarded specifically to this Defense & Space Zone?

Brownsville officials themselves describe their Defense & Space Zone as a “long-term vision,” and taxpayers should treat it as exactly that until the evidence demonstrates otherwise. And how many cushy, high-paying jobs for friends and how many years will it take before a single job comes to Brownsville residents?

"Vision" is where Brownsville says it wants to go. Reality is what Brownsville can prove it has today.