Amy Klobuchar: “I rise to speak today on another topic, and that is the reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank. Senator Cantwell is…”

“I rise to speak today on another topic, and that is the reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank. Senator Cantwell is going to be here shortly, and I thank her for her strong leadership. We will also be hearing at some point from Senator McCaskill and Senator Heitkamp. This has been a bipartisan effort. I thank the other Senators who have joined in this fight--Senator Graham and Senator Kirk. The reason I am here today is to say that America needs to be a country that exports, a country that thinks, that invents, that builds things, and that exports to the world. When 95 percent of the world's customers live outside of our borders, there is literally a world of opportunity out there for U.S. businesses. We simply can't afford to pass this up. We know there are about 85 credit export agencies in over 60 other countries. So all of these other countries, over 60 countries--major developed nations--have an Ex-Im type bank. Our businesses in the United States are competing against companies in those countries, so when they are bidding against each other for a contract, the companies in the other countries can say: Well, I may not be a huge business, I am a small business, but I know I can get financing from my country's bank--whether they are in Germany or whether they are in China. Do you know what our companies have to say right now? Well, the Ex-Im Bank's charter has lapsed. We can't get financing.…”