[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 62 (Tuesday, April 29, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H3277-H3279]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   REAUTHORIZE THE EXPORT-IMPORT BANK

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2013, the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Heck) is recognized 
for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.


                             General Leave

  Mr. HECK of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the subject of my Special Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Washington?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. HECK of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of 
reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank that begins this discussion.
  I yield to the gentleman and my friend and a passionate advocate on 
behalf of the Export-Import Bank, Congressman Caardenas from the 29th 
District of California.
  Mr. CAARDENAS. Mr. Speaker, we need to reauthorize the Export-Import 
Bank. It is very rare that you will see, quite frankly, any government 
on the planet that actually has a program that they support, that 
actually puts money back to the taxpayers rather than costing the 
taxpayers.
  I say that is rare anywhere in the world. It certainly is rare here. 
This Export-Import Bank in the United States is in fact that kind of 
organization. For example, last year the bank supported 205,000 
American jobs. I did not say ``exported jobs.'' I said ``supported 
205,000 American jobs.'' That is what those loans did for American 
companies.
  In addition to that, it should be noted that the loans that are being 
given are actually filling the gap that private banks will not or 
choose not to support; but our American companies need that kind of 
support, especially when they are competing in our global economy. The 
Export-Import Bank is exactly that mechanism that should exist.
  What I would like to ask all Americans is to go ahead and go online 
and start tweeting Export-Import Bank and find out what your 
Congressman or Congresswoman thinks about the reauthorization of the 
Export-Import Bank.
  If you care about jobs, if you care about the person who lives next 
to you or down the street and they are unemployed, the Export-Import 
Bank is an answer to solving some of the problems in our economy in 
this country. Yes, there are too many Americans out of work, but not 
reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank will just contribute even more to 
companies in the United States not being able to compete, but also 
possibly closing their doors.
  In addition to that, I would like to point out that every developed 
country in the world actually has their version of an Export-Import 
Bank. And some of those countries like China and India are actually 
tenfold, maybe 100 times the support that we are giving to our domestic 
companies here they are giving to their companies so they can compete 
or perhaps overcompete around the world.
  I think it is important for all of us as Americans to understand that 
there is something good about the Export-Import Bank, and that is that 
it exists for creating American jobs. That is exactly what it is doing. 
If you are concerned about the American tax dollar, you would support 
the reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank because all it does is 
create more jobs and more taxes in the coffers, and it doesn't take 
away anything from the taxes of the American public.
  Mr. HECK of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from 
the 18th Congressional District of Florida, Congressman Patrick Murphy, 
another passionate advocate on behalf of reauthorization of the Export-
Import Bank.
  Mr. MURPHY of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman 
from Washington for his advocacy and passion for this critical issue 
for our country and for American jobs.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak out on the urgent need for 
Congress to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank, boosting job growth at 
home and the export of American-made products abroad.
  Coming from the private sector, one of the first things I did after 
being elected was embark on a jobs tour, which included over 70 
meetings, roundtables, and company visits within the first year. I have 
taken ideas and suggestions from all of these conversations and have 
put them into a plan to grow jobs in the Palm Beach-Treasure Coast 
district that I am so proud to represent.
  This plan consists of commonsense, pro-growth policies that allow new 
businesses to gain a solid foothold in a tough economy and for existing 
businesses to expand and prosper. One of the major focuses of this plan 
is on how the government can provide stability and certainty and 
resources to keep jobs at home by investing in our manufacturing sector 
and promoting exports of American-made goods abroad. Reauthorization of 
the Export-Import Bank with greater lending authority is one pillar for 
how we can do this.
  As my voting record shows, I have strong feelings about government 
overspending. As a former small business owner myself, I know that 
government does not create jobs. But government does have the 
responsibility to create an environment conducive to job growth, and 
that is exactly what the Ex-Im does at zero cost to taxpayers.
  It is an unfortunate reality that the United States buys much more 
than it sells. In 2013 alone, we imported over $400 billion, about 25 
percent of GDP, more than we exported. We need to reverse this trend by 
boosting U.S. manufacturing and exports.
  Now, the world knows we have the best equipment and the most highly 
trained workforce, and our products are sought after around the world 
for their high quality and skilled workmanship.
  We must better leverage these strengths and provide greater 
opportunity to export goods made in America. One of the best ways to do 
this is by reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank before its current 
charter expires on September 30.
  Just a few months ago, we celebrated the 80th anniversary of the Ex-
Im Bank

[[Page H3278]]

and its commitment to boosting the sales of U.S. products overseas. Ex-
Im supported over 200,000 American jobs in 2013 alone and generated 
over $1 billion in revenue in 2012. With my district being home to a 
growing manufacturing sector and its proximity to several major ports, 
export sales are a major economic issue for our community, contributing 
tens of millions of dollars to our local economy every year.
  The Ex-Im Bank is especially beneficial to small businesses, which 
are the backbone of our economy, creating two-thirds out of all new 
jobs nationwide.

                              {time}  1615

  More than 85 percent of Ex-Im's transactions benefit U.S. small- and 
medium-sized businesses, helping these entrepreneurs compete globally.
  In my district, the majority of exporters are also small businesses. 
I recently met with one such business during my jobs tour, Locus Traxx 
Worldwide. They were recognized with an Export Achievement Award by the 
U.S. Department of Commerce for their successful entry into the 
international marketplace.
  I also must commend our local Export Assistance Center for the great 
work they do with local businesses such as Locus Traxx, helping them 
utilize the Ex-Im Bank to promote the selling of goods made in America 
to buyers overseas.
  You see, the Export-Import Bank makes a real difference to our 
economy at the local, State, and national level. It is a highly 
effective and completely self-sustaining mechanism that businesses of 
all sizes use to finance exports.
  Even in times of intense partisanship, we should all be able to agree 
on the value the Ex-Im Bank provides to our economy. It would be 
shortsighted and detrimental to our economic recovery to allow its 
charter to expire.
  We must work together to build a brighter future for our Nation, 
strengthen our workforce, grow our economy, and reduce our deficit. To 
do that, we must come together to continue to support successful 
programs like the Ex-Im Bank that help small businesses prosper, 
support American jobs, and boost our exports.
  Now, we can have our differences, but at the end of the day we have 
to do what is in the best interest of America. And to do that, we have 
to work together. It shouldn't matter who gets the credit, as long as 
America and Americans succeed.
  For 80 years, the Ex-Im Bank has been making sure that we succeed. I 
strongly urge my colleagues to join in calling for the commonsense 
reauthorization of the Ex-Im Bank so that we may continue to support 
American businesses' access to global markets and increase our Nation's 
international competitiveness.
  I want to thank the gentleman from Washington for his leadership.
  Mr. HECK of Washington. When someone in America builds a better 
mousetrap or improves upon the design of an existing product, the world 
takes notice. Companies, governments, and industries in countries from 
South Africa to Turkey and in between are potential customers for well-
crafted, American-made products.
  But in the modern-day globalized economy, credit is necessary for 
complex transactions. Buyers and sellers need assurance that the deals 
are legitimate. Without that, they are forced to imitate products, 
violate intellectual property rights and standards, and American 
companies lose out on market share.
  For 80 years, our economy has expanded and grown beyond our borders 
and into the developed and developing world, in part because of the 
Export-Import Bank of the United States. Today, with U.S. trade 
deficits growing as exports fall, we need now more than ever to be able 
to support increases in exports.
  Exports accelerate our economic growth, and the Export-Import Bank is 
a key part in encouraging just that activity. Increased exports 
translate into more jobs in America. Studies have shown that export-
related jobs pay, on average, 15 to 18 percent more than the overall 
average. They are better-paying jobs.
  Finally, with 95 percent of the potential customers of U.S. goods and 
services living outside our borders, exporting provides vast potential 
for American businesses, large and small.
  Ninety-five percent of the world lives outside our borders, and the 
rest of the world is growing a middle class. So think of it this way. 
If we want to keep and grow our middle class, we better be selling into 
the rest of the world's growing middle class.
  This is not, and has never been, about picking winners and losers. 
The Export-Import Bank simply serves to bridge the gap between those 
who want American goods and services and Americans that have goods and 
services to sell. It is about leveling the playing field so that small 
operators have access to a global market of customers equal to that of 
large corporations.
  For example, the Bank's export credit insurance policy provides 
payment coverage for commercial risks such as buyer default and 
political risk from war or unrest. The insurance also ensures that 
businesses no longer have to forego sales because they cannot match the 
credit terms offered by global competitors. This is what we are talking 
about when we say it levels the playing field.
  There is no other private lender currently offering what the Export-
Import Bank provides American businesses. For example, 89 percent of 
the bank's transactions directly benefit U.S. small businesses. That 
doesn't even include the small businesses that make up the supply chain 
of the larger companies whose goods are purchased from foreign 
entities.
  If you want more information on this, the very best place to get it 
is at the Export-Import Bank's own Web site, www.exim.gov. Look up the 
businesses in your area that have benefited from the Export-Import 
Bank.
  As was mentioned earlier, lo and behold, we actually even make money 
off the Export-Import Bank. Last year alone, over a billion dollars 
transferred to the U.S. Treasury off the profits of the Export-Import 
Bank. As a matter of fact, in the 80 years of its existence, quite 
literally not one red penny of American taxpayer dollars has ever been 
used in support of the Ex-Im. Not one red penny. It lowers the deficit 
and does not use taxpayer dollars.
  As I mentioned, it is small companies. Take a company like Pexco, 
which is located in the 10th Congressional District in Fife, 
Washington. They produce traffic control products you see on the road 
when repairs are being made, like traffic cones, raised curbs, 
reflective signs, and barricades indicating where the road is blocked 
off. They are used all over the world.
  In fact, just recently, a distributor from Denmark purchased $125,000 
worth of Pexco products, which was financed by the Export-Import Bank. 
No commercial bank would have touched that transaction. But it 
guaranteed the products would reach Denmark. They were done reliably 
because of the Export-Import Bank.
  In fact, in this individual company's instance, which is not atypical 
of their sales--and they are a small company of 200 employees--over 
half is sold internationally. Ten percent of total sales are financed 
by the Export-Import Bank.
  So what is the result? The residents of Fife, Washington, are put to 
work producing their popular products in traffic safety all over the 
world.
  I mentioned it was FDR that actually created the Export-Import Bank 
80 years ago, and although it was actually initiated and created by a 
Democratic administration, the support of it has always been strongly 
bipartisan.
  Republican Presidents such as Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, 
George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush supported the mission of the Ex-Im 
Bank, as did Bill Clinton. All these Presidents were staunch supporters 
of capitalism and the Ex-Im Bank.
  Listen to what President Reagan said when he signed the 
reauthorization, which was a bill that was reauthorized almost 
unanimously, in 1986:

       This sends an important signal to both our exporting 
     community and foreign suppliers that American exporters will 
     continue to able to compete vigorously for business 
     throughout the world.

  Perhaps an even more conservative voice, former Vice President 
Cheney, said in 1997:

       Some of my fellow conservatives on the Hill may have a 
     philosophical problem with the fact that the bank is a 
     government agency, but if they consider the success of its

[[Page H3279]]

     lending programs, it would be difficult for them to object on 
     budgetary grounds.

  For every dollar put into Ex-Im, Cheney said, ``there's been a $20 
return to the U.S. economy.''
  And again, the same speech, Vice President Cheney said:

       Ex-Im Bank is remarkably effective at helping create jobs, 
     opportunities for trade, stable democracies, and vibrant 
     economies throughout the world. The Bank has made a 
     tremendous contribution as a rapid response, service-oriented 
     agency designed to meet the export financing needs of 
     American businesses.

  Indeed, the Bank has been reauthorized a number of times throughout 
its history--almost always unanimously, until of late--each time making 
it more effective for the economic climate of the time.
  So let's have a conversation about how to make it better. Let's have 
a conversation on how to get the word out to businesses that they have 
yet to tap into their potential global markets. Let's talk about how to 
get our economy running and get ahead of our global competitors.
  Let's remember, as Congressman Caardenas alluded to, every single 
developed entity in the world has an Ex-Im Bank-like entity, and if we 
do not reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank, it is the equivalent of and 
tantamount to unilateral disarmament in a global economy--one in which 
global trade has increased fivefold just since 1980.
  What is the Export-Import Bank about? It is about jobs, jobs, jobs. 
Yes, 200,000 last year, but over a million in the last 4 years.
  Every month we spend debating the merits of the Export-Import Bank 
instead of encouraging companies to explore the world market, the 
economy loses billions of dollars in potential export opportunities. 
The jobs, especially in manufacturing, stagnate. People remain 
unemployed when they want to work.
  As a member of the House Financial Services Committee, I am 
encouraging, I am urging, I am beseeching, I am pleading with the chair 
to hold hearings as soon as possible on reauthorization of the Export-
Import Bank. We have been waiting 15 months for something to happen. 
And it is time to move forward.
  Let us be clear-eyed and cold-blooded about what the cost is of not 
doing anything. At a recent roundtable of businesses who had been 
involved with the Export-Import Bank there was a gentleman present from 
a company in California. I believe his name was Steve Wilburn and the 
company was named FirmGreen.
  Literally, in the course of the conversation he raise his hand and he 
said, I just lost a multimillion-dollar order of sales, and I am told 
the reason I lost it is that our competitor manufacturer, which was in 
another country, persuaded the purchaser that the cloud hanging over 
reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank may mean it will not be there 
when you need it. We lost millions in sales because Congress dithered.
  Ladies and gentlemen, at the end of the day, this is the most 
straightforward imaginable proposition. This is about shoring up, 
strengthening, supporting the manufacturing sector of the American 
economy and creating good-paying jobs.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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