1.Short title; table of
contents
(a)This Act may be cited
as the Securing American Jobs Through Exports Act of
2011
.
(b)The table of contents of this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings; statement of purpose.
Sec. 3. Extension of authority.
Sec. 4. Limitations on outstanding loans, guarantees, and
insurance.
Sec. 5. Content guidelines for the provision of Bank
financing.
Sec. 6. Biennial audits of Bank transactions.
Sec. 7. Use of portion of Bank surplus to update information
technology systems.
Sec. 8. Monitoring of default rates on Bank financing; reports
on default rates.
Sec. 9. Sense of the Congress regarding Bank
accountability.
Sec. 10. Sub-Saharan Africa Advisory Committee.
Sec. 11. Extension of authority to provide financing for the
export of nonlethal defense articles or services the primary end use of which
will be for civilian purposes.
Sec. 12. Elimination of obsolete provisions.
Sec. 13. Effective date.
2.Findings;
statement of purpose
(a)The Congress finds as follows:
(1)Export sales by United States companies are
critical to national economic growth.
(2)Increased demand
for United States exports in emerging markets will help small and large
companies maintain and create United States jobs.
(3)The Export-Import Bank contributes to a
stronger national economy by financing the export of United States goods and
services in markets where private capital is limited or unavailable.
(4)The Export-Import
Bank of the United States does not compete with private sector lenders.
(5)The Export-Import
Bank of the United States helps finance United States exports to 183
countries.
(6)A large percentage of global growth will be
centered in markets served by the Export-Import Bank of the United States, and
the Bank will be critical to helping United States companies compete for these
opportunities.
(7)Through its
support for exports, in fiscal year 2010 the Export-Import Bank of the United
States supported 227,000 American jobs at over 3,300 companies.
(8)The Export-Import
Bank of the United States helps to level the playing field for United States
exporters by matching the financing that other governments provide to their
exporters.
(9)All the leading exporting nations have
official export credit agencies that are used actively to support their
exporters.
(10)Through its
insurance, loan, and loan guarantee products, the Export-Import Bank of the
United States supports the promotion and maintenance of high levels of
employment and real income and increased development of the productive
resources of the United States.
(11)The Export-Import Bank of the United States
requires reasonable assurance of repayment for the transactions it authorizes,
and the Bank closely monitors credit and other risks in its portfolio. The Bank
prices transactions based on its risk assessment of the buyers.
(12)Since 1934, the net loss rate for all
long-, medium-, and short-term loans made by the Export-Import Bank
of the United States is 1.5 percent.
(13)The Export-Import Bank of the United States
has been a self-sustaining institution since fiscal year 2008, and surpluses of
the Bank are remitted to the United States Treasury. From fiscal years 2008
through 2010, the Bank generated a surplus of $551,000,000.
(14)In fiscal year 2010, the Export-Import Bank
of the United States provided a record $5,000,000,000 directly supporting
United States small business exporters through 3,091 transactions, representing
20 percent of the total value of the Bank’s authorizations and nearly 88
percent of the total number of the Bank’s authorizations.
(b)The purpose of this
Act is to reauthorize the activities and operations of the Export-Import Bank
of the United States to ensure that the Bank provides financing, when
commercial banks are unable or unwilling to do so, competitive with the
financing provided by foreign export credit agencies, in order to enable United
States companies to contribute to a stronger national economy by maintaining or
increasing the employment of workers in the United States through the export of
goods and services.
3.Section 7 of the
Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 (12 U.S.C. 635f) is amended by striking
2011
and inserting 2015
.
4.Limitations on
outstanding loans, guarantees, and insuranceSection 6(a)(2) of the Export-Import Bank
Act of 1945 (12 U.S.C. 635e(a)(2)) is amended—
(1)in subparagraph
(D), by striking and
;
(2)in subparagraph
(E), by striking the comma at the end and inserting a semicolon; and
(3)by adding at the
end the following:
(F)during fiscal year 2012,
$120,000,000,000;
(G)during fiscal year
2013, $140,000,000,000; and
(H)during fiscal year 2014 and each fiscal
year thereafter,
$160,000,000,000.
.
5.Content
guidelines for the provision of Bank financingSection 2 of the Export-Import Bank Act of
1945 (12 U.S.C. 635) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(i)Content
guidelines for the provision of financing
(1)The Bank shall, after
notice and comment and Board approval, establish clear and comprehensive
guidelines with respect to the content of the goods and services involved in a
transaction for which the Bank will provide financing, which shall be aimed at
ensuring that the Bank enables companies with operations in the United States
to maintain and create jobs in the United States and contribute to a stronger
national economy through the export of their goods and services.
(2)In establishing the guidelines, the Bank shall
take into account such considerations as the Bank deems relevant to meet the
purposes described in paragraph (1), including the following:
(A)The needs of different industry sectors to
obtain financing from the Bank for exporting their products or services in
order to create and maintain jobs in the United States.
(B)The ability of companies with operations in
the United States to compete effectively for export opportunities that will
create and maintain jobs in the United States, particularly with respect to the
Bank’s content requirements and co-financing arrangements.
(C)The totality of support, including
financing and subsidies, extended by export credit agencies to support the
exports of goods and services, as well as key differences in, types of
trade-offs among, and national trade promotion strategies of OECD member
countries and of non-OECD member countries.
(D)Recommendations from the advisory committee
established under section 3(d), including any dissenting views.
(E)Any findings or recommendations of the
Government Accountability Office pertaining to the ability of the Bank to
provide financing that is competitive with the financing provided by foreign
export credit agencies, to enable companies with operations in the United
States to contribute to a stronger United States economy by maintaining or
increasing the employment of workers in the United States through the export of
goods and services.
(F)The effects of the
guidelines on the manufacturing workforce and service workforce of the United
States.
(G)The effect of changes to current Bank
content requirements on the incentive for companies to create and maintain
operations in the United States in order to increase the employment of workers
in the United States.
(3)
(A)The Bank may
establish separate guidelines under this subsection for services and for
goods.
(B)The Bank may establish separate guidelines
under this subsection for small business concerns (as defined in section 3(a)
of the Small Business Act).
(C)The Bank may
continue separate guidelines under this subsection with respect to different
terms and products.
(4)Certification
that domestic content has not been reduced because of the
guidelinesIn determining
whether to provide financing for a proposed transaction, the exporter shall
certify that the domestic content of a good has not been reduced solely as a
result of the guidelines.
(5)Within 60 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Bank shall publish a notice
with respect to the issuance or modification of guidelines under this
subsection. Within 60 days after the end of the public comment period otherwise
required by law with respect to the issuance or modification of the guidelines,
the Bank shall submit to the Congress, for its review, the guidelines in
proposed final form. At the end of the 30-day period that begins with the date
the proposed final guidelines are so submitted, the proposed final guidelines
shall be considered a final agency action for all purposes and shall take
effect and be implemented immediately.
(6)Every
2 years, the Bank shall review and, as appropriate, modify the guidelines,
subject to paragraph (5).
(7)Within 1 year after the implementation of new or
modified guidelines under this subsection, the Inspector General of the Bank
shall submit to the Congress a report evaluating the guidelines, which shall
include—
(A)a discussion of the considerations required
to be taken into account in establishing the guidelines, a comparison of how
the guidelines reflect each consideration, and a description of the extent to
which the guidelines enabled companies with operations in the United States who
submitted an application for financing from the Bank to maintain and create
jobs in the United States and contribute to a stronger national economy through
the export of their goods and services;
(B)a description of
the effect of the guidelines on the number of domestic jobs to be supported,
the kinds of domestic jobs to be supported, including their duration and
geographic location, and the existence and nature of any transfers of
technology or production; and
(C)recommendations for how the guidelines
could be modified to better facilitate exports of goods and services from the
United States in order to maintain and create jobs in the United States and
contribute to a stronger national
economy.
.
6.Biennial audits
of Bank transactionsSection 2
of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 (12 U.S.C. 635), as amended by section 5
of this Act, is amended by adding at the end the following:
(j)Audits of bank
transactionsEvery 2 years,
the Comptroller General of the United States, in consultation with Inspector
General of the Bank, shall audit a representative sample of Bank transactions
to ensure that Bank underwriting, policies, due diligence, and content
guidelines are met by applicants who receive Bank
support.
.
7.Use of portion of
Bank surplus to update information technology systemsSection 3 of the Export-Import Bank Act of
1945 (12 U.S.C. 635a) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(j)Authority To use
portion of Bank surplus To update information technology systems
(1)Subject to paragraphs
(3) and (4), the Bank may use an amount equal to 1.25 percent of the surplus of
the Bank during each fiscal year to—
(A)seek to remedy any
of the operational weakness and risk management vulnerabilities of the Bank
which are the result of the information technology system of the Bank;
(B)remedy data
fragmentation, enhance information flow throughout the Bank, and manage data
across the Bank; and
(C)enhance the
operational capacity and risk management capabilities of the Bank to better
enable the Bank to increase exports and grow jobs while protecting the
taxpayer.
(2)In
paragraph (1), the term surplus means the amount (if any) by
which—
(A)the sum of the
interest and fees collected by the Bank; exceeds
(B)the sum of—
(i)the funds set
aside to cover expected losses on transactions financed by the Bank; and
(ii)the costs
incurred to cover the administrative expenses of the Bank.
(3)The
aggregate of the amounts used in accordance with paragraph (1) for all fiscal
years shall not exceed $20,000,000.
(4)Subject to
appropriationsThe authority provided by paragraph (1) may be
exercised only to such extent and in such amounts as are provided in advance in
appropriations
Acts.
.
8.Monitoring of
default rates on Bank financing; reports on default ratesSection 8 of the Export-Import Bank Act of
1945 (12 U.S.C. 635g) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(g)Monitoring of
default rates on Bank financing; reports on default rates
(1)Monitoring of
default ratesNot less
frequently than quarterly, the Bank shall calculate the rate at which the
entities to which the Bank has provided short-, medium-, or long-term financing
are in default on a payment obligation under the financing, by dividing the
total amount of the required payments that are overdue by the total amount of
the financing involved.
(2)Within
45 days after a rate calculated under paragraph (1) equals or exceeds 2
percent, the Bank shall submit to the Congress a written report that explains
the circumstances that have caused the default rate to equal or exceed 2
percent, and includes a plan to reduce the default rate to less than 2
percent.
.
9.Sense of the
Congress regarding Bank accountabilityIt is the sense of the Congress that—
(1)the Board of Directors of the Export-Import
Bank of the United States (in this section referred to as the
Bank
) should establish a formal, transparent, and independent
accountability mechanism that would review, investigate, and report on
allegations by affected parties of failure of the Bank to follow its own
policies and procedures, including situations where the Bank is alleged to have
failed in its follow-up on the borrower’s obligations in financing agreements
with respect to such policies and procedures;
(2)such an accountability mechanism should be
able to provide advice to management on policies, procedures, guidelines,
resources, and systems established to ensure adequate review and monitoring of
projects;
(3)in carrying out
its mandate, the confidentiality of sensitive business information should be
respected, and, in consultation with affected parties, project sponsors, and
Bank management, a flexible process should be followed aimed primarily at
correcting project failures and achieving better results on the ground;
and
(4)the accountability mechanism should be
independent of the line operations of management, and report its findings and
recommendations directly to the Board of Directors of the Bank.
10.Sub-Saharan
Africa Advisory CommitteeSection 2(b)(9)(B)(iii) of the Export-Import
Bank Act of 1945 (12 U.S.C. 635(b)(9)(B)(iii)) is amended by striking
2011
and inserting 2015
.
11.Extension of
authority to provide financing for the export of nonlethal defense articles or
services the primary end use of which will be for civilian
purposesSection 1(c) of
Public Law 103–428 (12 U.S.C. 635 note; 108 Stat. 4376) is amended by striking
2011
and inserting 2015
.
12.Elimination of
obsolete provisions
(a)Foreign credit
insurance association
(1)Section 2(b)(1) of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 (12
U.S.C. 635(b)(1)) is amended by striking subparagraph (F) and redesignating
subparagraphs (G) through (L) as subparagraphs (F) through (K),
respectively.
(2)
(A)Section 2(h)(2) of
such Act (12 U.S.C. 635(h)(2)) is amended by striking (J)
and
inserting (I)
.
(B)Section 3 of such
Act (12 U.S.C. 635a) is amended in each of subsections (f)(1)(A) and (g)(7) by
striking (I)
and inserting (H)
.
(C)Section 8 of such
Act (12 U.S.C. 635g) is amended in each of subsections (c) and (f)(8)(A) by
striking (J)
and inserting (I)
.
(D)Section 8A(a)(5)
of such Act (12 U.S.C. 635g–1(a)(5)) is amended by striking
2(b)(1)(K)
and inserting 2(b)(1)(J)
.
(b)Definition of
marxist-Leninist countrySection 2(b)(2)(B)(ii) of such Act (12
U.S.C. 635(b)(2)(B)(ii)) is amended by striking subclause (VII) and
redesignating subclauses (VIII) and (IX) as subclauses (VII) and (VIII),
respectively.
13.This Act and the
amendments made by this Act shall take effect on October 1, 2011.