[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Pages 16691-16692]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           EXPORT-IMPORT BANK

  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I rise to speak in support of 
reauthorizing the Ex-Im Bank. I know some of my colleagues were here 
earlier, and I wanted to join them, but I was at a hearing over in 
commerce. I do want to thank Senators Cantwell and Kirk for their 
leadership on this issue. I also want to thank my colleagues, Senators 
Heitkamp, Shaheen, Mikulski, and Boxer, who were on the floor today 
voicing their strong and continued support for the Ex-Im Bank.
  Yesterday, the House voted 313 to 118 to reauthorize the Export-
Import Bank. That is a strong bipartisan vote that included a majority 
of Republicans. It included seven of the eight Members of the 
congressional delegation from the State of Minnesota, including several 
Republicans.
  The Ex-Im Bank also has bipartisan support here in the Senate, which 
has voted twice this year to reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank, both times 
with more than 60 votes. Now it is time for the Senate to take up this 
bill and vote to reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank with no further delay. This 
year, the Senate has been in the lead on this. We have shown the kind 
of bipartisan support that helped the House to get the numbers they 
needed, and now we must simply pass the bill.
  The Ex-Im Bank has been reauthorized 16 times in its 81-year history, 
every time with a broad bipartisan majority. As yesterday's House vote 
and previous votes in the Senate show, the Ex-Im Bank still has the 
support of a broad bipartisan majority.
  Since coming to the Senate, I have been working to boost America's 
ability to compete in the global economy. I serve on the President's 
Export Council. I believe America needs to be a country that once again 
thinks, invents things, and exports to the world. We like our financial 
industry--we have the sixth biggest bank in the country out of 
Minnesota--but we all know we can't simply rely on the financial 
industry to keep the economy going. The economy has to be a bread-and-
butter economy, and that means making things, and that means exports.
  When 95 percent of the world's customers live outside of our borders, 
there is literally a world of opportunity out there for U.S. 
businesses. U.S. exports have helped expand our economy over the past 4 
years, reaching an alltime high of $2.3 trillion, an increase of 34 
percent since 2009 after inflation.
  We know there are about 85 credit export agencies in 60 other 
countries, including every exporting country in the world. Our 
businesses are competing against these foreign businesses, which are 
backed by their own countries' credit export programs and often receive 
other government subsidies. Why would we want to make it harder for our 
own companies to compete in a world where all the other exporting 
nations have an export-type bank financing authority? When our 
companies are competing against overseas companies for contracts, they 
need the Ex-Im Bank.
  In 2014, the Ex-Im Bank provided support for $27 billion worth of 
U.S. exports. This sounds like a lot, but in the same year China 
financed more than double that amount--$58 billion compared to $27 
billion--and South Korea and Germany also provided more support for 
their exports. If we don't get this done, Mr. President, China will eat 
our lunch.
  If we want a level playing field for our businesses, we need to have 
the U.S. Ex-Im Bank open and running. Do you know what our companies 
find out right now? Well, the charter has lapsed. When these U.S. 
companies or our foreign competitors go to the Ex-Im Bank Web site, do 
you know what they see on the Web site? I will tell you. I went to the 
Web site and saw it myself. It says this: ``Due to a lapse in EXIM 
Bank's authority, as of July 1, 2015, the Bank is unable to process 
applications or engage in new business or other prohibited 
activities.'' Every one of our foreign competitors knows this is up on 
our own U.S. Web site.
  To me, this is about jobs. As the ranking member of the Joint 
Economic Committee, I know that in 2014 the Ex-Im Bank provided $20.5 
billion in financing. That supported 164,000 jobs. I know there are 
hundreds of companies in Minnesota--I think the exact number is 170--
that use financing authority. The vast majority of them are small 
companies. These small business owners, like many small business owners 
all across the country, know it is essential for their ability to 
export. They can't have a full-time bank person in their small 
companies. They can't have a full-time expert on trade with various 
countries--Kazakhstan, you name it--all around the world. They need the 
help of the Ex-Im Bank to know how to get this financing.
  I visit all 87 counties in my State every year, and a lot of that 
time is spent visiting these small businesses. Even when I don't mean 
to find an Ex-Im-type business, I find one. I heard from Fastenal and 
Miller Ingenuity, both from Winona. I have heard from EJ Ajax 
Metalforming, a leader in workforce policies. So everywhere from 
Fastenal to PERMAC, an award-winning women-run manufacturer in 
Burnsville, I have found that Minnesota businesses get help from Ex-Im 
Bank.
  The time is here. We can't put it off any longer. Our colleagues in 
the House, despite the fact that they didn't even know if they had a 
Speaker for a number of weeks, were able to pass this bill. Now it is 
our turn. Let's get this done.

[[Page 16692]]

  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.

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