Providing for Consideration of Hr. United States Export Finance Agency Act of and for Other Purposes

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 695 and ask for its immediate consideration.

The Clerk read the resolution, as follows: H. Res. 695

Resolved, That at any time after adoption of this resolution the Speaker may, pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule XVIII, declare the House resolved into the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union for consideration of the bill (H.R. 4863) to promote the competitiveness of the United States, to reform and reauthorize the United States Export Finance Agency, and for other purposes. The first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. General debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Financial Services. After general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. In lieu of the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on Financial Services now printed in the bill, an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 116-36 shall be considered as adopted in the House and in the Committee of the Whole. The bill, as amended, shall be considered as the original bill for the purpose of further amendment under the five-minute rule and shall be considered as read. All points of order against provisions in the bill, as amended, are waived. No further amendment to the bill, as amended, shall be in order except those printed in the report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution. Each such further amendment may be offered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a Member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question in the House or in the Committee of the Whole. All points of order against such further amendments are waived. At the conclusion of consideration of the bill for amendment the Committee shall rise and report the bill, as amended, to the House with such further amendments as may have been adopted. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill, as amended, and on any further amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with or without instructions.

Sec. 2. Section 201 of House Resolution 6 is amended as follows:

(1) In subsection (f)(3), strike ``At the conclusion of the first session of the One Hundred Sixteenth Congress'' and insert ``By October 30, 2020''.

(2) In subsection (g)(1), strike ``on February 1, 2020'' and insert ``at the conclusion of the One Hundred Sixteenth Congress''.

Sec. 3. House Resolution 661 is hereby adopted.

Sec. 4. House Resolution 693 is hereby adopted.

Sec. 5. (a) At any time on the legislative day of Thursday, November 21, 2019, it shall be in order without intervention of any point of order to consider in the House a motion to discharge the Committee on Foreign Affairs from further consideration of the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 70) directing the President pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities in the Syrian Arab Republic that have not been authorized by Congress, if offered by Representative Gabbard of Hawaii. The motion shall be considered as read. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the motion to its adoption without intervening motion except 20 minutes of debate equally divided and controlled by Representative Gabbard of Hawaii and an opponent. The question of adoption of the motion may be subject to postponement as though under clause 8 of rule XX.

(b) The provisions of section 7 of the War Powers Resolution (50 U.S.C. 1546) shall not apply during the remainder of the One Hundred Sixteenth Congress to House Concurrent Resolution 70.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Woodall), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. General Leave
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Rules Committee met and reported a rule, House Resolution 695, providing for the consideration of H.R. 4863, the United States Export Finance Agency Act, under a structured rule.

The rule provides 1 hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking member on the Committee on Financial Services, makes in order 21 amendments, and provides for a motion to recommit. It also provides that, upon passage of the rule, H. Res. 661 and H. Res. 693 will be hereby adopted. Additionally, it makes the motion to discharge H. Con. Res. 70 in order on November 21 if offered by Representative Gabbard, debatable for 20 minutes. Lastly, the rule extends the positive work of the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress to the conclusion of the 116th Congress.

Mr. Speaker, given that the United States is the third largest exporter of goods in the world, maintaining and supporting this industry is imperative for our economic well-being and for good-paying jobs across the country. In 2018, we shipped over $2.5 trillion worth of commercial aircraft, machinery, industrial supplies, consumer goods, and agricultural products overseas.

The Export-Import Bank, or Ex-Im Bank, plays a large role in supporting that business. Through direct loans, medium- and long-term loan guarantees, working capital, and insurance, the Ex-Im Bank steps in where private financing is unavailable and has been supporting American exporters for nearly a century. Because of work like this, in the last 10 years, Ex-Im has created 1.7 million American jobs.

Over the last several years, we have seen the Bank go through a lot of unnecessary political turmoil. After successfully reauthorizing the Bank in 2015, the Senate has failed to confirm board members. Under current law, without Senate action, the Bank was left almost inoperable.

The effects were felt across the Nation, and in my own district, it was affected there. In the past 5 years, my district in northern California has been home to nine exporters, of which seven are small businesses and five are owned by women and minorities. After Senate negligence left the Bank unable to do its work, today there are only three exporters remaining in my district.

In today's bill to reauthorize the Bank, we make substantial improvements that not only address the political problems displayed in the Senate, but also improve and diversify the Bank's activities. In short, the United States Export Finance Agency Act will help support even more jobs, with new emphasis on small business, women- and minority-owned businesses.

As a former small business owner, I am encouraged by this effort. To stay on top, the United States must stay competitive. This bill gives us that chance to help workers, help businesses, and help our economy.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. DeSAULNIER. Jackson Lee).

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. DeSaulnier) for his leadership, and my good friend from Georgia, I thank him for his explanation of the process of democracy in this place.

But I am excited to announce that this is a bipartisan effort, because the bipartisan aspect of it are the results of how this legislation will impact all of America irrespective, not respecting, their region, their faith, or their party.

Let me be very clear to say what we are actually talking about today and the real-life stories that make a difference. It is called the Export-Import Bank and it is legislated as the United States Export Finance Agency, and its short name, as I said, Export-Import.

What does that mean?

I rise to support it, because it means something to individual businesses. It means something to rural American farmers. It means something to small manufacturers.

We have been documenting that manufacturing is going down, manufacturing based upon how you sell your products.

This is a 10-year plan with $175 billion to help those businesses, those small farms, those entrepreneurs in your community. That is jobs.

What it means is the company that makes light bulbs can now export those to developing nations on the continent of Africa or they can go deep into Southeast Asia or Asia and sell products from the United States to a foreign country.

For those of us who have seen the lopsidedness, there are governments that actually fund businesses outside the United States. We don't do that, mostly, unless it is through a grant or through a funding for a project that we need, and so you are on your own.

But this is going to provide small businesses with an extra hand up. It is going to help those who are, in particular, minority and women- owned businesses, along with others. It is going to create a process so that it does not lapse.

We had a period where there was no quorum. We couldn't help small businesses.

I remember sitting in a room with this company in a foreign country, a U.S. company that was there, and they said, ``If it had not been for the Export-Import Bank, we would have lost 300 employees in the United States.''

This is bipartisan. This is where we help people, no matter who they are. I am a strong supporter of this bill because it takes into consideration working men and women, and it takes into consideration the environment.

All of our union friends, who provide a pathway of success for working Americans, support this bill because it helps bring back manufacturing. We support it because it gives alternative options for energy a boost where jobs can be created with renewable energy.

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, let me just simply say that you have to live this to understand it, and I have spoken to those businesses that have benefited from Export-Import.

It sounds like a name that you can't get your hands around, but just understand it simply. You want to do business overseas. You want to get your products overseas. It is a big hurdle. You need additional finance. This is the place to come.

And they have been successful in paying for themselves. That $175 billion is over 10 years, but it pays for itself with the number of businesses that Americans can take advantage of and create new businesses for the sole purpose of selling that product overseas, selling that small farmer produce, what is on that small farm, allowing them to send it to markets that are desperate for the wonderful bounty of food products that we are able to raise in this wonderful country.

In particular, I would like to add, it is a good place for veterans who want to start their business, to add to their business, because many of them, obviously, understand the international realm.

Mr. Speaker, this is a good bill. I support this bill, the Ex-Im Bank, and I hope that my colleagues will support it.

Mr. Speaker, I first want to recognize my colleague from Oklahoma and his passion, his history on this bill, and his argument. I also want to thank him for the bull analogy, although I am not sure how the chair of the committee might take that.

Having said that, I do want to say to my friend from Georgia a little bit about his comments. I find myself in agreement whenever I come down here on much of what Mr. Woodall says in terms of the aspiration of working more together and still keeping our unique perspectives on things.

Mr. Speaker, I would hope that he would admit that the chair of the Rules Committee, Mr. McGovern, and the ranking member--certainly, two of the Members I respect the most, in addition to my colleague. We have had these debates in the committee, and I think that there is an earnest effort of both parties to do better. As you said, we can do better.

So I would like to thank my colleague for mentioning and referring to the instances when we did agree. I would like to remind us all that Mr. McGovern has been very insistent on the 72-hour rule, which has been helpful. We have done a higher percentage of structured rules to date, and fewer closed rules to date, under his leadership than we did under the previous Congress. Just 2 weeks ago, not that this is a baseball game, there were three times as many Republican amendments in the natural resources bill as there were Democratic.

Having said that, I think we can do better.

I do want to note to my colleague that I am a cosponsor of the Adoptee Citizen Act, a great piece of legislation with great authors. As we continue to try to do more together and better together, I think you know I yearn to serve in a body like that, where we have legitimate differences of opinion from our perspective, from what our constituents expect, and there is honest respect for both sides, that we create a work product that is probably more reflective of both. I have said that before. We have had this discussion.

In this instance, I think we are trying to do better all the time. For me, and I know for the chair and our staff, we want to continue to work with the gentleman to do better.

It is always a pleasure to be down here or on the Rules Committee with my friend from Georgia. I appreciate what we agree with, and I appreciate the passion that the gentleman brings when he disagrees with us.

I do want to say, as we fight for these things, there was a famous Frenchman who President Reagan used to quote, the quote was: ``Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.''

So somewhere in there, in this process I think we try to find the best product we can. I believe what we have in front of us is that product. And I do also think and commit to this that we can always do better.

Mr. Speaker, a vote for this rule and this bill is a vote to promote American-made jobs, goods, and the American economy.

I urge a ``yes'' vote on the rule and the previous question.

The text of the material previously referred to by Mr. Woodall is as follows: Amendment to House Resolution 695

At the end of the resolution, add the following:

Sec. 6. Immediately upon adoption of this resolution, the House shall proceed to the consideration in the House of the bill (H.R. 2207) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the excise tax on medical devices. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. The bill shall be considered as read. All points of order against provisions in the bill are waived. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and on any amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion except: (1) one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Ways and Means; and (2) one motion to recommit.

Sec. 7. Clause 1(c) of rule XIX shall not apply to the consideration of H.R. 2207.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source