Chris Coons: “I have come to the floor today following on the speech just delivered by Senator Boxer, who highlighted her concern…”

“I have come to the floor today following on the speech just delivered by Senator Boxer, who highlighted her concern about a manufactured crisis--the impending expiration of the highway bill, which must be reauthorized by July 31. I come to speak to another manufactured crisis. We have to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank by June 30 or face the loss of its support for vital jobs in our economy that will happen with its expiration. I am a big advocate for manufacturing here in the Senate and in my home State of Delaware, but I am not a big fan of manufactured crises. Both of these are unneeded, self-inflicted wounds that will create further drag on our economic recovery. I think we can and should find ways to work together across the aisle to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank. For more than 80 years, the Export-Import Bank, commonly known as Ex- Im, has served as a vital tool to help American companies sell their goods around the world. By making loan guarantees and providing risk insurance and other financial products to American firms at market prices, the Bank has helped to ensure that American companies and their workers can compete anywhere in the world and at no cost to the American taxpayer. I will say that again: at no cost to the American taxpayer. The Bank not only pays for itself, but it actually often runs a surplus. Last year alone, it returned $700 million to the U.S. Treasury.…”