Rep. Rick Larsen, WA-02, today introduced a bill to reauthorize and expand the U.S. Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank. The bank, whose authority expires May 31, helps finance sales of U.S. manufactured goods. Since 2007 the Ex-Im bank has supported more than $21 billion in exports in Washington’s 2nd Congressional District from large and small businesses.
“Exports create jobs in Washington state and across the nation. The Export-Import Bank is an essential tool that allows our exporters, large and small, to sell their products overseas,” Larsen said. “The Export-Import Bank has been a huge success story, financing billions of dollars of U.S. exports each year and supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs. The bank has been so successful helping manufacturers sell American-made goods overseas, that its lending authority needs to be expanded.”
Since 2007 the Ex-Im Bank has helped finance the sale of exports from 15 companies in Washington’s 2nd Congressional District, including 10 small businesses. For a list of companies in Washington’s 2nd Congressional District that have received support from the Ex-Im Bank in the last five years, visit: https://www.exim.gov/congmap/#/WA-2.
“Not only does the Ex-Im Bank not cost American taxpayers a single dollar, it returns a profit to the U.S. Treasury helping us reduce our deficit,” Larsen added. “The bank is important for large manufacturers like Boeing, but also small and medium manufacturers that are seeking to grow their exports overseas. I am proud to introduce this straightforward bipartisan bill to keep America open for business. I thank Senator Cantwell for her leadership on this legislation in the Senate and I look forward to working across the aisle to pass this bill.”
“We appreciate Congressman Larsen and Senator Cantwell taking the lead on this issue that directly impacts thousands of our members’ jobs at Boeing,” said IAM 751 Political Director Larry Brown. “Roughly 70 percent of the planes our members build for Boeing are sold to airlines and leasing companies outside the United States and financed through the Export-Import Bank. Failure to reauthorize Ex-Im would amount to unilateral disarmament in the face of other nation's aggressive trade finance programs. It will put billions of dollars in U.S. exports and thousands of American jobs at risk.”
In 2011, the Ex-Im bank supported nearly 290,000 export-related jobs in the United States, helping to finance more than $41 billion in sales from more than 3,600 American companies.
The Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act of 2012:
Extends the Bank’s authority through September 30, 2015;
Increase the Bank’s aggregate loan, guarantee and insurance authority by $10 billion a year to $140 billion by 2015;
Directs the Bank to review its current domestic content requirement to ensure the bank is driven at promoting U.S.-produced exports and creating U.S. jobs;
Strengthens Congressional oversight of the Bank, requiring it to submit a 5-year strategic plan and yearly evaluations and reporting;
Improves the Bank’s transparency by requiring the Bank to provide more notice and details to the public about transactions over $100 million;
Strengthens risk oversight so risk to taxpayers is fully considered and mitigated; and
Enhances restrictions against financing for entities that do business with Iran.
Larsen introduced the bill with Rep. Don Manzullo, a Republican from Illinois’ 16th District.
The text of the bill as introduced can be found here. A section-by-section breakdown of the bill can be found here. The legislation was first introduced in the Senate as an amendment to the JOBS Act by Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., Tim Johnson, D-S.D., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Richard Shelby, R-Ala.
Larsen has received more than 350 letters from constituents in Northwest Washington whose jobs depend in part on the Ex-Im Bank. Larsen recorded a video response to those letters: Video Mailbag.
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