Providing for Consideration of H.R. 2822, Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016; Providing for Consideration of H.R>, 2042, Ratepayer Protection Act of 2015; and Providing for Proceedings During the Period from June 26, 2015, through July 6, 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

If we defeat the previous question, I will offer an amendment to the rule to allow for consideration of legislation that would reauthorize the Export-Import Bank for 7 years. The Export-Import Bank allows American businesses to compete in global markets and supports hundreds of thousands of jobs.

I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of the amendment in the Record along with extraneous material immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Colorado?

There was no objection.

Mr. Speaker, we have one legislative day until the expiration of the Export-Import Bank's authorization. We are going to get to talk about this EPA rule in a few minutes, but there are many Members on my side of the aisle who want to bring forward in the form of a previous question, the only procedural way that we can advance this important piece of legislation to the floor before the House goes home in July, to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank.

Reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank would strengthen our Nation's economy. It would provide stability and certainty for American businesses. The Export-Import Bank assists tens of thousands of small-and medium-sized businesses throughout the country. In fact, nearly 90 percent of Export-Import's transactions are with small businesses, and the Bank directly supports 164,000 private sector jobs at over 3,300 companies.

In August, I was honored to receive a visit from Export-Import Bank President Fred Hochberg, who came to my district to highlight the kinds of jobs and companies that Export-Import really benefits and discuss ways that it can work together with some of our local Colorado small businesses. Together, we visited Boulder-based Droplet Measurement Technologies, which was named the Export-Import Bank's 2015 Small Business Exporter of the Year for its work in cloud and aerosol measurements. Roughly two-thirds of this small company's sales come from exports.

Mr. Speaker, that is the kind of growing business that Export-Import Bank supports--export-related jobs so important in today's global economy--not just the brand names, not big companies, but the types of small-and mid-sized firms that need and deserve our support to compete on the global market.

FiberLok in Fort Collins is a specialty-based printing company in my district that provides heat transfer graphic products like computer mouses and drink coaster rugs. It is family-owned with 70 employees, and about 40 percent of its business is international. They sell worldwide, including Germany, Mexico, and the U.K. In 2008, the company discovered Export-Import Bank through a direct mail campaign that targeted small businesses, and they have been using the small business multibuyer credit insurance since, and through that, with the help of that program, export sales have grown 15 to 20 percent, and the Bank has supported over 2.7 million of FiberLok's exports.

Mr. Speaker, I understand that there are some on the other side of the aisle that have a philosophical problem with the existence of the charter of the authorization for this Bank. If that is the case, surely unilateral disarmament is not the solution. Perhaps instruct our trade negotiators to remove backdoor subsidies at other export-import banks that other nations have, but as long as these types of efforts are permitted under WTO and trade rules, and as long as other nations support the export economy in their countries through programs like the Export-Import Bank, why would we want to unilaterally disarm? It makes no sense and puts American businesses and American exporters at a disadvantage and would lead to the outsourcing of even more jobs overseas.

Financing assistance from this Bank--which, incidentally, costs zero money to taxpayers--helps ensure that U.S. companies are competing on a level playing field. Canada, China, and Japan, over 60 other nations, have similar banks that extend even more export financing to their businesses.

Mr. Speaker, there is strong, bipartisan support for the renewal of the Bank's charter. I urge every Member who supports that to help defeat the previous question so we can offer our amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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