[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 92 (Wednesday, June 10, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H4011-H4012]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   REAUTHORIZE THE EXPORT-IMPORT BANK

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Maxine Waters) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Speaker and Members, I rise this 
morning to sound the alarm, and I want my colleagues to understand that 
there are just 10 legislative days remaining for Congress to act before 
the Export-Import Bank shuts down. It is outrageous that we are here 
today, in this countdown, as the hands of the clock have become a 
knife-edge pressed against the future of American businesses and the 
jobs they create.
  The Ex-Im Bank has a proven track record of supporting hundreds of 
thousands of jobs in every single congressional district across this 
country, and the fact that anyone would even consider shutting it down 
is shortsighted, and it is harmful to our economy. Ex-Im supports our 
businesses and our workers, all while not costing taxpayers a dime. In 
fact, over the past two decades, the Bank has generated a profit of 
close to $7 billion--a true win-win for our taxpayers. Yet, for the 
ideologues who are committed to chopping away government programs that

[[Page H4012]]

support our Nation's students and seniors, exporters, and others, the 
facts don't really matter. They just see ending the Bank as a 
conservative litmus test.
  Mr. Speaker, it is simply shameful that the extremist, antigovernment 
wing of the Republican Party has, once again, pushed us to the brink of 
actively damaging our Nation's businesses and our competitiveness with 
this standoff. It doesn't have to be this way. A majority of the House 
of Representatives is already on record in its support of a long-term 
reauthorization of the Bank. It is time for Speaker Boehner to 
intervene by immediately putting a measure up to keep its doors open 
for a vote on the House floor.
  For 2 years, despite the calls from Democrats and Republicans, 
Chairman Hensarling has made it clear that this manufactured crisis is 
exactly what he has wanted all along. This is not a fight between 
Democrats and Republicans. It is a fight between ideology and reason in 
the Republican Party. While the ideologically driven crusade to 
eliminate the Bank may be a game here in Washington, it certainly isn't 
a game for the hundreds of thousands of our businesses all over this 
country.
  For example, let's take Michael Boyle, a Republican and a veteran, 
who recently testified that, thanks to the Bank, he has been able to 
quadruple his company's revenue and expand his business from just 8 
employees to 60 currently.
  Mr. Boyle's story is the American story of thousands of businesses, 
large and small, across this country that rely on the Bank to compete 
on the global stage. Nevertheless, in the United States Congress, we 
are talking about shutting down one of the best resources our 
businesses have--just to make a political statement.
  As the deadline for reauthorizing the Bank nears, I have been 
encouraged to increasingly hear from some of my Republican colleagues 
who have come out and said, ``Enough is enough.'' As a matter of fact, 
as I sat in committee, I was very pleased to hear Mr. Fincher, a 
Republican, say that his wife told him:

       You don't represent and you don't work for the chairman of 
     the committee, Mr. Hensarling. You don't work for the 
     Speaker, Mr. Boehner. You work for the people who elected you 
     to come to Congress.

  Mr. Fincher basically said to his chairman that it is time to stop 
playing the game, that we have got to reauthorize the Export-Import 
Bank.
  I want you to know that Mr. Hensarling and those rightwing 
conservatives who want to use this as a political point will have you 
believe, ``Oh, this Bank is only for Big Business,'' but that is 
absolutely not true. Not only does the Bank support thousands of small 
businesses, but the suppliers to the big businesses are small 
businesses all over this country who rely on the Export-Import Bank for 
their ability to create jobs and have businesses in their districts.

                              {time}  1045

  All of the Members on the Democratic side of the aisle support the 
reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank, and many of the Members on 
the opposite side of the aisle support the Bank. So I don't know why 
the Members on the opposite side of the aisle can't rein in their 
chairman. I don't know why they are afraid of him. I don't know why 
they don't speak up.
  We have 10 more days. Let's get busy and get this bill reauthorized 
and this Bank. I am asking Speaker Boehner to exercise his leadership 
and get it done.

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