Letter to the Hon. Donald J. Trump, President of the United States - Urges President Trump to withdraw nomination of Scott Garrett to lead Export-Import Bank

Letter

Dear Mr. President:

As Members who helped lead the effort to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank of the United States in the 114th Congress, we urge you to withdraw the nomination of Scott Garrett to be President of the Bank.

As you well know, the ExIm Bank plays a vital role in supporting tens of thousands of well-paying jobs in this country in the face of competition aggressively supported by more than 60 foreign export credit agencies, all while generating a profit for the U.S. Treasury. Unfortunately, for the past two years the Bank has been unable to approve transactions worth more than $10 million -- precisely the type of deals where the need to offset foreign export credit agency financing is most pronounced. Worse, U.S. companies are starting to move production to offshore locations where they can benefit from the services of foreign export credit agencies; in fact, for some infrastructure and other large deals, U.S. firms cannot even bid without the backing of ExIm Bank financing.

Given your expressed intention of making the U.S. more competitive, the nomination of Mr. Garrett makes no sense. Then-Representative Garrett was a leading critic of the Bank's operations and a vocal opponent of the Bank's reauthorization, voting against its reauthorization and saying, "Congress should put the Export-Import Bank out of business." If confirmed as Chairman of the Board, Mr. Garrett would have wide latitude to control the Board's agenda and substitute his personal views for the statutory mission of the Bank, destroying it from within after failing in his efforts to persuade his colleagues to legislate its demise.

We therefore respectfully request that you withdraw the nomination.

STENY H. HOYER
House Democratic Whip

GWEN MOORE
Ranking Member, Monetary Policy and Trade Subcommittee

DENNY HECK
Member of Congress

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