On the recordJuly 15, 2015
The greatest threat to our national security is our national debt. It is the number one issue facing our country right now and one of the primary reasons I sought to serve in this body. I have often said that the only way that we are ever going to balance our budget, the only way that we are ever going to retire our national debt is by three things: first of all, we have got to cut spending; secondly, we have got to have entitlement reform; and, thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, we have got to grow our way out of this. The Ex-Im Bank helps us to do that. As a small-business man, having owned three independent retail pharmacies for the last 27 years, I understand the value in business of cutting costs and increasing revenues. It is important. You have to both cut costs and increase revenues, and you have to grow your business. The Ex-Im Bank helps us to increase revenues. It helps us to retire our national debt. First of all, the Ex-Im Bank has returned money to the Treasury in the form of revenues it generates from loan interest and fees. Last year alone, the Bank generated a surplus of $675 million. Secondly, and most importantly, the Ex-Im Bank encourages economic growth by supporting the purchase of American-made goods around the world. These purchases sustain thousands of American companies who rely on exports and put food on the table of hard-working men and women employed by them.…
