09.17.14

SPEECH: Cantwell Response to House Vote on 9-Month Ex-Im Bank Extension

Senator: ‘All they have done is left the marketplace with a great deal of uncertainty. It will cost us jobs.’

***VIDEO AVAILABLE***

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) delivered a speech on the U.S. Senate floor in response to the House of Representatives’ passage of a nine-month extension of the Export-Import Bank.

The Senate is scheduled to vote Thursday on the provision, which was included in a Continuing Resolution to keep the federal government open until December.

Cantwell has been a Congressional leader in fighting for the Export-Import Bank’s reauthorization. She has cosponsored bipartisan legislation to renew the Export-Import Bank for five years.

Below are excerpts from Cantwell’s speech.

  • “While I’m happy there’s a Continuing Resolution that keeps our government open, I’m very distressed over the fact that the House is sending us a simple nine-month extension of the Export Import Bank to expire June 30th of next year.

 

  • “This is a jobs issue. It’s about our economy and we’ve heard today at various venues throughout the Capitol how people are actually losing jobs right now because of uncertainty over the Export-Import Bank. I know that some of my colleagues in the House of Representatives are proud that they have helped to reauthorize the bank for nine months, but make no mistake about it—this will cost us jobs in the United States of America during that time period.

 

  • “We heard from one firm today, FirmGreen, that was actually excluded from participating in getting a deal simply because the uncertainty of the Ex-Im Bank -- a credit agency guaranteeing the financing of the deal -- was not at the table and we lost out to an Asian competitor. During these nine months of uncertainty, that’s exactly what’s going to happen to more U.S. companies, they are going to lose out on these energy jobs that we’re looking for overseas.

 

  • “All they have done is left the marketplace with a great deal of uncertainty. It will cost us jobs. It will ship jobs overseas. Here in the Senate, we need to act to get a long-term reauthorization for the Ex-Im Bank.”

The Export-Import Bank is a financing tool that helps American companies export their products or services. It has supported $37 billion in total U.S. export sales and 205,000 jobs, including 85,000 jobs in Washington state.