Time To Reauthorize The Ex-Im Bank

Statement

Dear Neighbors,

For decades, the Export-Import bank has helped American exporters sell their products overseas. The Export-Import bank provides the financing, credit and insurance for businesses to grow their markets abroad, when other options are simply not available. It does this at no cost to taxpayers.

The bank supported more than 40 businesses and over 1,700 jobs in my Congressional district over the last 6 years. It's one of the reasons why Illinois is the 5th largest exporting state in the country.

Yet, because of the partisanship in Washington, the Congressional charter for the Export-Import Bank is set to expire at the end of June. Democrats, Republicans and Independents agree that investing in American manufacturing is crucial to jumpstarting the American economy. Manufacturing employed nearly 25% of the workforce in the 1970s, but now accounts for only 8%. The loss of these middle class jobs has had a devastating impact on working families and reauthorizing the Export Bank is crucial to rebuilding our manufacturing base.

BLS Enterprises is just one of the businesses in our region that suffers because of the uncertainty over an Export-Import bank extension. It cannot make plans to expand and make commitments to potential customers without assurance that the Ex-Im Bank will be reauthorized. BLS was founded by Barry Stoughton, a former high school math teacher from Elk Grove Village. In 1986 Barry started BLS out of a garage and began making polyurethane track pads for construction equipment. In recent years BLS expanded by selling its products overseas with the help of the credit insurance the Export-Import Bank provides. This insurance helps Barry sustain losses if one of his customers overseas can't make its payments. Now, Barry and his employees wonder if Congress will let the Export-Import Bank expire and jeopardize his business.

That is why I am a proud cosponsor of H.R. 1031, the Promoting U.S. Jobs through Exports Act of 2015. If enacted, this legislation would reauthorize the Export-Import Bank, increase the Bank's lending cap and require the Bank to focus efforts on promoting small and medium-sized American businesses. Congress should move forward with a multi-year reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank that provides certainty and stability for U.S. manufacturers and exporters without delay.

Sincerely,

Tammy Duckworth
Member of Congress

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