Political Quotes

“If somebody else shows up, I might yield to him; but with that understanding, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, I want to talk a little bit about the Export-Import Bank and what they do and why it is so important. First of all, there are a lot of forms of subsidization that are not permitted under trade rules or the WTO. However, there are certain safe harbors for things that are allowed, and all of our major trading partners have something like an Export-Import Bank. What it does is it helps to effectively finance our exports. When we have somebody who wants to buy products from an American company in another country, rather than have that company, itself, have to collect that overseas debt, effectively, that debt is transferred to this pseudopublic entity, the Export-Import Bank, and that, effectively, becomes the collection agent overseas for that debt. It, effectively, allows our exporters to get their payments up front to outsource any risk of no payment occurring. In fact, the U.S. Export Agency is in a better position to collect those debts because people will see them abroad as an entity of the U.S. Government. It works out well, as it is profitable; it is supported by the business community; and it is fully permissible under trade rules. If we fail to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank, we are, effectively, stabbing ourselves in the foot. We are hurting our own export economy.…”