Rep. Rick Larsen, WA-02, today joined with a majority of members of the U.S. House of Representatives in a vote to renew the job-creating Export-Import Bank. Larsen, who is a staunch supporter of the Bank, cheered passage of the four-year renewal (H.R. 597) and called on the Senate to act quickly on the bill.  

“Today’s vote to renew the Export-Import Bank is a major bipartisan victory for jobs,” Larsen said. “The Bank helps Pacific Northwest businesses of all sizes create jobs here at home by selling their goods overseas. Earlier this year I toured Vista Clara, Inc., in Mukilteo, which manufactures equipment that does imaging in water, rock and soil formations. Vista Clara relies on the Export-Import Bank to finance sales of its products to customers all over the world, and the Bank has helped this small business grow by breaking into new markets in India and China.”

“Thousands of workers in Northwest Washington and across the country are counting on Congress to do the right thing and get the Ex-Im Bank reauthorized. While Congress never should have allowed the Ex-Im Bank to expire in the first place, we can keep America open for business by getting the job done now. If we want a healthy economy, our country cannot afford to lose the jobs and growth the Export-Import Bank creates,” Larsen said.

The Bank expired on June 30, halting all new export financing for U.S. businesses of all sizes. Larsen helped introduce a bill to reauthorize the Bank earlier this year. He also led efforts to renew the Bank in 2012.

In Washington’s second Congressional district, the Export-Import Bank has supported more than $77 billion in exports since 2007. These exports have come from 18 companies, including 11 small businesses like Vista Clara Inc. Nearly 90 percent of the Bank’s transactions support small businesses. And because nearly 60 other countries have export credit agencies, the Export-Import Bank helps level the playing field for U.S. businesses.

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