Providing for Consideration of H.R. 1029, EPA Science Advisory Board Reform Act of 2015, and Providing for Consideration of H.R. 1030, Secret Science Reform Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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I, too, rise in support of H.R. 1031, the Promoting U.S. Jobs Through Exports Act of 2014, which reauthorizes the Export-Import Bank long term. I am so proud to have been able to introduce this legislation, along with our ranking member of the Committee on Financial Services, Ms. Waters, and Representatives Heck and Hoyer.

The bill has 189 Democratic cosponsors. You add that number to the 57 Republicans that are supportive of Representative Fincher's legislation to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank and just do the math there: 189 and 57, far and above any kind of majority needed to reauthorize this important jobs creation, jobs engine, and I would hope that this body would move forward on reauthorizing this legislation.

My district of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has a very strong manufacturing and industrial base. I believe that we are maybe second in the country that really depends on a strong manufacturing and industrial base for our basic economic activity, and the small manufacturers in Milwaukee utilize the Export-Import Bank to export goods and services to places like China and India.

One of the narratives, the untrue narratives about the Export-Import Bank is that it is a utility for big companies like Boeing, it is the Bank of Boeing. Well, not so much. There is an endless supply chain, like the ones that I have visited recently.

I just recently went to a shop in Milwaukee that employs 30 people--30 people--yet they export U.S. goods to work on the Panama Canal.

The president of that company just flat out stated that he doesn't exist without the Export-Import Bank. Folks, it is just that simple.

I have heard many debates and arguments about the importance of passing stuff like Keystone, which is debatable as a job creator, and where it does create jobs, it is in a very small geographic area--whereas the Export-Import Bank creates hundreds of thousands of jobs in all of our districts.

Folks, it is just really that simple. The Export-Import Bank is a necessary part of our discussion about creating jobs.

Until we get past the political arguments that are being made about hanging the Export-Import Bank out there as low-hanging fruit to demonstrate our willingness to cut off so-called corporate welfare so that we can then get at cutting off entitlement programs to people, until we get past that cynical debate, I don't think that we are going to see very much in the way of improving our job creation performance in the United States.

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