Golden Votes to Help Maine Businesses Reach New Markets Abroad & Protect Jobs Back Home
Statement
Focused on protecting Maine jobs and helping businesses succeed, Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) voted today to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank (EXIM) and address significant problems that have held the agency back from growing exports of American-made products and supporting thousands of American jobs.
EXIM helps fill gaps in private financing for American goods and services being sold abroad. The agency offers loan guarantees, insurance, access to capital, and buyer financing for American businesses that face unfair competition from heavily-subsidized foreign businesses or are unable to access export financing from private sources. Maine companies, almost entirely small businesses, have used the agency's services to export $36 million of goods in the last five years.
"Expanding to new markets is one of the best ways for many businesses in our state to grow and add new jobs," said Congressman Golden. "The Export-Import Bank helps create those expansion opportunities, providing critical services that many companies need to export their "Made in America' products and compete on a fair playing field against foreign companies. The bill I voted to pass through the House today will allow the agency to serve more small businesses and protect more jobs. The legislation will also prevent Congress from playing politics with the agency, changing the rules governing EXIM so that it can't be held hostage by Washington in-fighting."
The legislation Golden voted for would address a problem within the rules of the Export-Import Bank that have hobbled the agency since 2015. Without a quorum on its board of directors, EXIM cannot approve the services it provides to American businesses. For years, partisan Members of Congress blocked nominations to fill empty seats on the EXIM board, preventing the agency from approving $40 billion of transactions that would have supported 250,000 American jobs. The bill passed by the House today provides a process for EXIM to continue to perform its functions even if its board does not have a quorum.
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