[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 16499]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     THANK YOU, EXPORT-IMPORT BANK

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Washington (Mr. Heck) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HECK of Washington. Mr. Speaker, last week the Export-Import Bank 
transferred to the United States Treasury more than $1 billion. The 
Export-Import Bank does not draw on the U.S. Treasury; it contributes 
to it. The Export-Import Bank has never drawn on the U.S. Treasury.
  Instead, the Export-Import Bank does the following: it creates jobs. 
By independent assessment, more than 255,000 jobs are created by the 
bank, jobs that otherwise would not exist. The Export-Import Bank helps 
small businesses. Indeed, 87 percent of all transactions of the bank 
directly benefit small businesses.
  But I ask you not to take my word for it. I would invite each and 
every Member of the House to go to the Web site and check the data 
about the number of transactions in their State and in their 
congressional district, and how that has helped to grow the economy.
  The fact of the matter is that every single developed or developing 
nation in the world has some form of export assistance, be it direct 
loan guarantee or direct loans. And theirs, by the way, are 
proportionally larger as a percent of GDP on average than ours. If we 
were to discontinue it, it would be the equivalent of unilaterally 
disarming in an increasingly competitive global economy.
  So, one more time: last week, the Export-Import Bank reduced our 
Nation's deficit by more than $1 billion. The Export-Import Bank 
creates jobs. It helps small businesses. The Export-Import Bank makes 
America stronger.
  Thank you, Export-Import Bank.

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