[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 16680]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 H.R. 597 ``REAUTHORIZING OF EXPORT-IMPORT BANK OF THE UNITED STATES''

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 27, 2015

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, as a senior member of the Homeland 
Security Committee, I rise to speak on H.R. 597, which reauthorizes the 
Export-Import Bank for four years.
  It is unfortunate that it has taken this body so long to get to this 
point and it was inexcusable that the House Republican leadership 
allowed the Ex-Im Bank authorization to expire on June 30, 2015 before.
  That intransigence made it necessary for a bipartisan majority of 
this House to resort to a discharge petition as the vehicle to bring 
this legislation to the floor.
  Mr. Speaker, the Ex-Im Bank enables U.S. companies, large and small, 
to turn export opportunities into real sales that help to maintain and 
create U.S. jobs and contribute to a stronger national economy.
  For more than 80 years the Ex-Im Bank has helped Texas businesses 
generate over $29 billion in exports, $4.3 billion of which originated 
from businesses in the 18th Congressional District of Texas.
  In May of this year I hosted Export-Import Bank President Fred. P. 
Hochberg for a historic tour of vital and thriving small businesses in 
the 18th Congressional District.
  We toured Frenchy's Sausage Manufacturing which is a company that 
currently services over 200 businesses.
  Frenchy's Sausage recently completed an expansion of plant facilities 
to accommodate the tremendous growth the company has experienced.
  We also toured Tejas Tubular, a company that built and opened their 
casing facility in 2005 to process larger diameter API casings and, 
which in 2011 opened the ERW tubing plant in Stephenville, Texas, and 
has processed more than 14 million joints of tubing and casing.
  Mr. Speaker, when operating on a level playing field, American 
exporters can compete against anyone.
  The Ex-Im Bank partners with American exporters, such as Tejas 
Tubular and Frenchy's Sausage Manufacturing in Houston, so they can 
close more deals abroad and support more middle class jobs here at 
home.
  The Ex-Im Bank is an independent federal agency that supports and 
maintains U.S. jobs by filling gaps in private export financing at no 
cost to American taxpayers.
  The Ex-Im Bank provides a variety of financing mechanisms, including 
working capital guarantees and export credit insurance, to promote the 
sale of U.S. goods and services abroad, 90 percent of which directly 
serve American small businesses.
  In fiscal year 2014, the Ex-Im Bank approved $20.5 billion in total 
authorizations. These authorizations supported an estimated $27.5 
billion in U.S. export sales, as well as approximately 164,000 American 
jobs in communities across the country.
  Recently Diversitybusiness.com announced the selection of Ex-Im Bank 
as one of the top agencies providing opportunities for small and 
minority businesses to expand export business operations.
  Since 2009, the Ex-Im Bank has authorized more financing to support 
the growth of minority- and women-owned businesses than it did over the 
previous sixteen years combined.
  In FY 2014, the Ex-Im Bank financed U.S. exports from minority- and 
women-owned businesses valued at more than $2 billion.
  Mr. Speaker, the Ex-Im is dedicated to pursuing equality of 
opportunity and supporting economic growth and jobs here in Houston and 
across America.
  I strongly support H.R. 597, which reauthorizes the vital agency that 
does so much to help American business create and maintain high-paying 
jobs for American families.




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