Political Quotes

“Thank you, Mr. Tonko. I will just take a short time here to add my voice in strong support of reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank. It has been 3 months since the Bank's charter ended, and American companies and workers are suffering. Mr. Tonko, you had mentioned what GE has recently done. We see manufacturing jobs being shipped overseas due to the inability of corporations and small businesses to access vital guarantees and financing. Every major trading nation in the world, other than the U.S. right now offers export financing. Without it, our manufacturers and workers are at a competitive disadvantage, something we cannot afford. In 2014 alone, the Ex-Im Bank financed over $27 billion of exports and supported 164,000 jobs in the U.S., all while generating a $675 million surplus. When we are looking for money, the Ex-Im Bank generated a large surplus. The Bank is vital to supporting small businesses. Nearly 90 percent of Ex-Im Bank transactions directly support small businesses. We need small business to succeed in this Nation if this Nation is going to succeed. Small businesses create the large majority of the jobs in this country. Small businesses need the Ex-Im Bank. So it is time to reauthorize the Bank and support American jobs in manufacturing. We cannot wait any longer. We need to bring this to the floor, get this done, and get more Americans back to work. Thank you very much, Mr. Tonko, for your work on this.”