[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1546 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1546

 To establish an export credit insurance program in the Small Business 
                            Administration.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 10, 2015

  Mr. Vitter introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
    referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish an export credit insurance program in the Small Business 
                            Administration.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Ensuring Small Businesses Can Export 
Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    (a) In General.--Congress finds that--
            (1) the Export-Import Bank of the United States 
        administers--
                    (A) the Working Capital Loan Guarantee Program, 
                which--
                            (i) facilitates finance for businesses, in 
                        particular small businesses, that have 
                        exporting potential but need working capital 
                        funds to produce or market goods or services 
                        for export;
                            (ii) provides repayment guarantees to 
                        lenders on short- and medium-term working 
                        capital loans made to qualified exporters, 
                        which loans are secured by export-related 
                        accounts receivable and inventory;
                            (iii) provides a guarantee of up to 90 
                        percent of the principal and interest on a loan 
                        made to an exporter by a private lender for 
                        export-related accounts receivable; and
                            (iv) provides a guarantee of up to 75 
                        percent for export-related inventory;
                    (B) the Global Credit Express Loan Program, which 
                provides direct working capital loans to small 
                businesses for a 6- or 12-month revolving line of 
                credit of not more than $500,000; and
                    (C) the Export Credit Insurance Program, which--
                            (i) extends credit terms to foreign 
                        customers;
                            (ii) insures against nonpayment by 
                        international buyers;
                            (iii) covers both commercial and political 
                        losses with a 95-percent guarantee; and
                            (iv) arranges financing through a lender by 
                        using insured receivables as additional 
                        collateral;
            (2) the export loan programs of the Export-Import Bank of 
        the United States described in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) 
        of paragraph (1) are less appealing to small businesses due to 
        lending restrictions on loans under those programs, which 
        provide that--
                    (A) the loans may not be used when the export 
                product being financed has less than 50-percent United 
                States content;
                    (B) the loans may not be used to finance sales to 
                foreign military buyers, with which a growing number of 
                small businesses are contracting; and
                    (C) contracts and purchase orders supported by 
                letters of credit may not be used in determining the 
                borrowing base; and
            (3) the Small Business Administration administers--
                    (A) the Export Working Capital Program, established 
                under section 7(a)(14) of the Small Business Act (15 
                U.S.C. 636(a)(14)), which provides short-term working 
                capital, including revolving lines of credit, of not 
                more than $5,000,000 with a 90-percent guarantee;
                    (B) the International Trade Loan Program, 
                established under section 7(a)(16) of the Small 
                Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)(16)), which provides 
                financing of not more than $5,000,000 with a 90-percent 
                guarantee for fixed assets, or to improve a competitive 
                position that has been adversely affected by import 
                competition; and
                    (C) the Export Express Program, established under 
                7(a)(34) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
                636(a)(34)), under which--
                            (i) exporters are provided with a 
                        streamlined method to obtain financing backed 
                        by the Small Business Administration for loans 
                        and lines of credit of not more than $500,000;
                            (ii) lenders use their own credit decision 
                        process and loan documentation;
                            (iii) the Small Business Administration 
                        determines eligibility and provides a loan 
                        approval in 36 hours or less; and
                            (iv) the guarantee is 90 percent for a loan 
                        that is not more than $350,000 and 75 percent 
                        for a loan that is more than $350,000 and not 
                        more than $500,000.
    (b) Additional Findings.--Congress further finds that--
            (1) the export loan programs of the Small Business 
        Administration described in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of 
        subsection (a)(3)--
                    (A) are not restricted by the limitations described 
                in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of subsection 
                (a)(2); and
                    (B) should be commended for their flexibility, 
                quick turnaround times, and the one-on-one assistance 
                from Small Business Administration personnel in 
                structuring loan deals, negotiating payment terms, and 
                ensuring that the financial needs of small businesses 
                are met;
            (2) the Export-Import Bank of the United States only has 
        Regional Export Finance Managers co-located in 12 Department of 
        Commerce United States Export Assistance Centers, whereas the 
        Small Business Administration--
                    (A) has Regional Export Finance Managers co-located 
                in 20 United States Export Assistance Centers; and
                    (B) currently has Regional Export Finance Managers 
                co-located in 10 additional United States Export 
                Assistance Center locations that the Export-Import Bank 
                of the United States does not, including in--
                            (i) Arlington, Virginia;
                            (ii) Boston, Massachusetts;
                            (iii) Charlotte, North Carolina;
                            (iv) Cleveland, Ohio;
                            (v) Denver, Colorado;
                            (vi) Los Angeles, California;
                            (vii) New Orleans, Louisiana;
                            (viii) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania;
                            (ix) Portland, Oregon; and
                            (x) St. Louis, Missouri;
            (3) the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 (15 U.S.C. 631 
        note) increased the maximum loan size under the 2 largest 
        export loan programs administered by the Small Business 
        Administration to $5,000,000, which could cover approximately 
        80 percent of all small business export loans currently 
        guaranteed by taxpayers through the Export-Import Bank of the 
        United States;
            (4) the export loan programs administered by the Small 
        Business Administration and the export loan programs 
        administered the Export-Import Bank of the United States are--
                    (A) duplicative of each other, except for the 
                Export Credit Insurance Program of the Export-Import 
                Bank of the United States; and
                    (B) under the current structure, competing against 
                each other for small business clients; and
            (5) the Export Credit Insurance Program of the Export-
        Import Bank of the United States is a vital component of export 
        loan programs.
    (c) Declaration of Policy.--It is hereby declared to be the policy 
of this Act--
            (1) that, should the statutory authority for the export 
        loan programs administered by the Export-Import Bank of the 
        United States lapse, the Small Business Administration shall 
        serve the small business clients of the Export-Import Bank of 
        the United States under existing statutory authority of the 
        Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.);
            (2) to create an Export Credit Insurance Program within the 
        Small Business Administration similar to the Export Credit 
        Insurance Program of the Export-Import Bank of the United 
        States; and
            (3) to ensure that small business exporters are served by 
        the programs of the Small Business Administration.

SEC. 3. EXPORT CREDIT INSURANCE PROGRAM.

    Section 22 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 649) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (l) as subsection (m); and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (k) the following:
    ``(l) Export Credit Insurance Program.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Administrator shall establish a 
        program under which the Administration shall provide insurance 
        for the exports of small business concerns, including insurance 
        against nonpayment by international buyers.
            ``(2) Regulations.--Not later than 90 days after the date 
        of enactment of this subsection, the Administrator shall 
        promulgate regulations to carry out the program established 
        under paragraph (1), which shall be, to the maximum extent 
        practicable, substantially similar to the Export Credit 
        Insurance Program of the Export-Import Bank of the United 
        States, as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of 
        this subsection.''.
                                 <all>