Make it in America

Floor Speech

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Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Madam Speaker, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Tonko) has been a leader on our agenda of Make It In America. It is a jobs plan which has included reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank as a way of helping our businesses and workers compete on a level playing field internationally.

Since the bank's charter expired on July 1, many small- and medium-sized exporters have been left without a critical resource, forced to compete with foreign companies that have the support of more than 80 foreign export credit agencies.

Uncertainty over the bank's future has already led businesses to announce jobs being moved overseas. My friend from New York talked about General Electric moving hundreds of jobs from his district and other districts as well.

Jeff Immelt, the president and CEO of GE, was here. He talked to Democrats and Republicans and said: You are hurting American jobs. Yet, we do not have the Export-Import Bank reauthorization on the floor even though, Madam Speaker, it enjoys a majority support in this House.

We have heard a number of very sound arguments for why Congress ought to pass a multi-year reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank without further delay.

One of those, Madam Speaker, came from Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Donohue, who wrote on September 17--this is the Chamber of Commerce president, not Steny Hoyer, the democratic leader.

He said this: Every major trading nation has an export credit agency like Ex-Im. ..... Failure to reauthorize Ex-Im would amount to unilateral disarmament in the face of other governments' far more aggressive export credit agencies. He went on to say: American companies are being forced to compete with one hand tied behind their back.

Another comes from 28 Governors on a bipartisan basis who sent a letter to us and said this: Failure to act--meaning failure to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank--will place American industries at a significant disadvantage in the global marketplace and harm businesses in our States.

The Governors, bipartisan, said: We strongly urge you--we, the Congress; we, the House of Representatives--to pass a long-term reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank.

Let me add, Madam Speaker, another voice to this discussion as well. That is the voice of Speaker Boehner, who said in April: There are thousands of jobs on the line that would disappear pretty quickly if the Ex-Im Bank were to disappear. The Speaker has also said, when he took office, that the House ought to work its will.

Madam Speaker, the votes are on the floor of this House to pass the reauthorization. Republicans and Democrats are working together to help create American jobs, retain American jobs, grow our economy, and be competitive internationally. It is now time to put the principle into practice of letting the House work its will.

Sixty Republican Members of this House have cosponsored a bill to reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank.

If you add up the 180-plus Democrats who have signed a discharge petition and those 60 Republicans, you get to 240. You only need 218, so clearly we have the votes to pass it.

I say to the Speaker and the majority leader, the House's will is clear. The effects of allowing the Ex-Im shutdown to continue are clear: more and more jobs being sent overseas. Our responsibility as the representatives of thousands of businesses and workers is very clear. Bring the Export-Import Bank to the floor for a vote.

I want to thank Ranking Member Maxine Waters, Ranking Member Gwen Moore, and Representative Denny Heck for their continued leadership on this issue. I want to thank my friend Representative Tonko from New York for leading today's Special Order on such a critically important issue, an issue that we all speak to, that we all say we are committed to, that we all say we want to work towards, and that is creating jobs for Americans in America. I thank my friend from New York.

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