Manchin, Kirk Urge Banking Committee to Reauthorize Export-Import Bank
Washington, D.C. – As the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on National Security and International Trade and Finance, U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) today sent a letter to the Committee’s Chairman Tim Johnson and Ranking Member Mike Crapo requesting the leaders schedule a vote to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank, whose funding runs out on September 30, 2014. The Subcommittee on National Security and International Trade and Finance oversees the Export-Import Bank, and Senators Manchin and Kirk will play a central role in drafting future reauthorization legislation.
They write, in part: “Considering a majority of Senators support the Ex-Im Bank and its reauthorization is imperative, we see no reason to delay this vote. After all, if we do not reauthorize the Bank, the U.S. stands to lose over one million jobs and billions of dollars in exports. At a time when our economy’s recovery remains fragile, it would be foolish to weaken this shining example of a successful public-private partnership.”
Please read the full text of the letter below.
Chairman Tim Johnson
Ranking Member Mike Crapo
U.S. Senate Committee on
Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs
534 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman Johnson and Ranking Member Crapo,
We respectfully request that the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee schedule a vote to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank (“Ex-Im Bank” or “the Bank”), whose funding is set to expire on September 30, 2014. As you know, the Ex-Im Bank provides crucial export financing for small businesses through its loan, guarantee, and insurance programs in cases where the private sector is unable or unwilling to do so.
As Chairman Fred P. Hochberg explained at the “Oversight and Reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank of the United States” hearing on January 28, 2014, the Ex-Im Bank plays an increasingly vital role in strengthening our nation’s economy. Due to the work of the Bank, the U.S. exported a record $194.9 billion in November 2013. Moreover, the Bank has supported nearly 1.2 million private sector U.S. jobs since 2009, including 205,000 jobs in FY 2013. Further, the Bank is a self-financing entity and therefore operates at no cost to taxpayers.
The Ex-Im Bank is committed to promoting small businesses’ exports. In 2013, the Bank financed a record 3,413 small businesses, which amounted to almost 90 percent of the Bank’s transactions. Most notably, in the past five years, the Bank financed more small businesses than the prior eight years combined. Constituents in our home states of West Virginia and Illinois have told us that, without Ex-Im Bank services, their small businesses would have no opportunity to participate in lucrative export markets.
Considering a majority of Senators support the Ex-Im Bank and its reauthorization is imperative, we see no reason to delay this vote. After all, if we do not reauthorize the Bank, the U.S. stands to lose over one million jobs and billions of dollars in exports. At a time when our economy’s recovery remains fragile, it would be foolish to weaken this shining example of a successful public-private partnership.
Again, we urge you to schedule a vote to reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank in the near future. Thank you for your consideration of our request.
Sincerely,
Senator Joe Manchin III
Senator Mark S. Kirk
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