Charles Rangel: “H.R. 2871, the Export-Import Reauthorization Act, strengthens an important tool to promote U.S. exports and U.S. jobs.…”

“H.R. 2871, the Export-Import Reauthorization Act, strengthens an important tool to promote U.S. exports and U.S. jobs. By law, the Export-Import Bank finances only exports made in the United States. In other words, the Bank supports American jobs. Last year, the Bank supported $12.5 billion in U.S. exports, which in turn supported tens of thousands of American jobs. In the 67 years of its existence, the Bank has supported more than $400 billion of U.S. exports and the hundreds of thousands of jobs that depend on those exports. I would like to note my support for many of the important provisions in the reauthorization. First, I am pleased to see the substantial increase in the Bank's aggregate loan, guarantee, and insurance authority. Second, I am particularly happy to see the new provisions creating an Office of Africa within the Bank to promote exports to sub-Saharan Africa. The Export-Import Bank's role in recent years in strengthening the role and expanding the opportunities for U.S. business in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in the wake of passage in 2000 of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, has been critical. Third, I am pleased to see the required increases in the Bank's lending to small businesses, which often have difficulty accessing foreign markets. The Export-Import Bank is also important to help U.S. companies compete abroad.”