[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16745]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1230
               REAUTHORIZATION OF THE EXPORT-IMPORT BANK

  (Mr. LaMALFA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, last evening, I voted against reauthorizing 
the Export-Import Bank, a Federal entity that financially backs 
purchases of American goods and services by providing taxpayer-backed 
loans and loan guarantees to foreign companies and governments.
  While the Ex-Im Bank can help American industry break into foreign 
markets, too often it underwrites purchases by companies that directly 
compete with domestic companies, placing them at a significant 
disadvantage. For example, when foreign airlines purchase aircraft at 
lower costs with Ex-Im Bank backing, they are able to charge lower 
fares and outcompete our domestic airlines.
  The Federal Government should ensure that competition occurs on a 
level playing field, without tilting it toward one side or another.
  Furthermore, Ex-Im Bank supporters used a discharge petition to bring 
this bill to the floor, a parliamentary tactic which limits the use of 
amendments and creates an end run around the normal committee process 
that should apply to every measure considered by Congress.
  It is the American public that shoulders the risk of these loans, 
and, at the very minimum, they deserve an honest debate on this floor 
on the best way to move forward in promoting our exports abroad.

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