Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise today in strong support of the nomination of Fred Hochberg to be the President and Chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States. Despite taking the helm of the Bank in the midst of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, Mr. Hochberg's leadership expanded financing for American exporters when private financing was nearly impossible to acquire. In 2012, the Export-Import Bank helped to support an estimated 255,000 American jobs at 3,400 companies, and 85 percent of Export-Import Bank transactions directly benefited small businesses. The Export-Import Bank is self-sustaining, charging fees to cover its expenses and creating no cost to U.S. taxpayers. Furthermore, since 2008, the Bank has been able to send nearly $1.6 billion in profits to the U.S. Treasury. Mr. Hochberg was first nominated to be President and Chairman of the Export-Import Bank on April 20, 2009, and he was confirmed unanimously by this body on May 14, 2009. Mr. Hochberg was renominated by President Obama on March 21, 2013, and he was approved 20-2 in the Senate Banking Committee on June 6, 2013. I urge my colleagues to once again confirm Mr. Hochberg without delay. If we fail to confirm Mr. Hochberg before July 20, we run the risk of leaving the Bank without a quorum to act on many of the transactions before it--creating an uneven playing field for American workers and exporters. Mr. Hochberg's nomination is supported by both labor and business groups.…”