I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3847 

To provide for reforms of the Export-Import Bank of the United States. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 28, 2015 

Mr. ISSA (for himself, Mr. PETERSON, and Mr. HUNTER) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To provide for reforms of the Export-Import Bank of the 

United States. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Export-Import Bank 

5 Reform Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

7 The table of contents of this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

TITLE I—IMPROVING TRANSPARENCY OF THE EXPORT-IMPORT 

BANK OF THE UNITED STATES 

Sec. 101. Review of Bank product pricing and credit standards to avoid crowding out of private export finance. 

Sec. 102. Prohibited countries. 


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Sec. 103. Employee certification and financial disclosure. 

Sec. 104. Parallel GAAP reporting. 

Sec. 105. Making the Bank the lender of last resort for loans, attempting private financing first. 

Sec. 106. Audit committee. 

Sec. 107. Report on privatizing the Bank. 

Sec. 108. Independent audit of Bank portfolio. 

TITLE II—IMPROVING THE ACCOUNTABILITY OF THE EXPORTIMPORT BANK OF THE UNITED STATES 

Sec. 201. Earnings retention. 

Sec. 202. Office of the President and term limits. 

Sec. 203. Repayment as priority. 

Sec. 204. Limitations on outstanding loans, guarantees, and insurance. 

Sec. 205. Credit risk. 

TITLE III—JOB GROWTH 

Sec. 301. Medium-sized enterprises. 

Sec. 302. Inflation adjustment. 

1 TITLE I—IMPROVING TRANS2 PARENCY OF THE EXPORT-IM3 PORT BANK OF THE UNITED 

4 STATES 

5 SEC. 101. REVIEW OF BANK PRODUCT PRICING AND CRED6 IT STANDARDS TO AVOID CROWDING OUT OF 

7 PRIVATE EXPORT FINANCE. 

8 Section 8 of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 

9 (12 U.S.C. 635g) is amended by adding at the end the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(l) REPORTS ON PRIVATE EXPORT FINANCING AND

12 BANK PRICING AND CREDIT STANDARDS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) PRIVATE EXPORT FINANCING.—The Board 

14 of Governors of the Federal Reserve System shall 

15 issue a semiannual report to the Congress on the 

16 terms and conditions (including interest rates, matuVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:04 Oct 29, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3847.IH H3847

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1 rities, and credit standards) that apply in the provi2 sion of export finance by private financial institu3 tions. 

4 ‘‘(2) BANK PRICING AND CREDIT STAND5 ARDS.—The Bank shall issue an annual report to 

6 the Congress on the steps taken by the Bank to ad7 just the pricing of products offered, and the credit 

8 standards used, by the Bank to avoid crowding out 

9 private export finance.’’. 

10 SEC. 102. PROHIBITED COUNTRIES. 

11 Section 8 of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 

12 (12 U.S.C. 635g), as amended by section 101 of this Act, 

13 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(m) RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING PROHIBITED

15 COUNTRIES.—The Board of Directors of the Bank, in 

16 consultation with Congress, the President, and the Sec17 retary of State, shall develop recommendations annually 

18 regarding the countries with whom and in which the Bank 

19 should not be doing business, and the Bank shall include 

20 the recommendations in its annual report to the Congress 

21 under subsection (a).’’. 


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1 SEC. 103. EMPLOYEE CERTIFICATION AND FINANCIAL DIS2 CLOSURE. 

3 Section 3(e) of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 

4 (12 U.S.C. 635a(e)) is amended by adding at the end the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘(3) ETHICS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) CODE OF ETHICS.— 

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Chief Ethics 

9 Officer shall draft a Code of Ethics that 

10 sets out strict and definite standards of of11 ficial conduct for all Bank directors, offi12 cers, and employees, which Code shall in13 clude a policy that prohibits conflicts of in14 terest, as described in paragraph (1) of 

15 this subsection, and other policies, prohibi16 tions, and restrictions that the Chief Eth17 ics Officer deems appropriate. 

18 ‘‘(ii) CONSIDERATIONS.—In drafting 

19 the Code of Ethics, the Chief Ethics Offi20 cer shall consider the Principles of Ethical 

21 Conduct for Government Officers and Em22 ployee set forth in Executive Order 12731 

23 (Oct. 17, 1990). 

24 ‘‘(iii) CONSISTENCY WITH ETHICS IN

25 GOVERNMENT ACT OF 1978.—The Chief 

26 Ethics Officer shall ensure that the Code 


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1 of Ethics is consistent with the Ethics in 

2 Government Act of 1978 and the regula3 tions promulgated under such Act. 

4 ‘‘(iv) EFFECTIVENESS; AMEND5 MENT.—The Code of Ethics (and an 

6 amendment to the Code) shall take effect 

7 on approval by the Board. The Code of 

8 Ethics may be amended only on the rec9 ommendation of the Chief Ethics Officer. 

10 ‘‘(v) ANNUAL EMPLOYEE CERTIFI11 CATIONS.—The Board, in consultation with 

12 the Chief Ethics Officer, shall implement a 

13 policy that requires all Bank directors, of14 ficers, and employees to certify annually 

15 that they have read, understand, and com16 plied with and will continue to comply with 

17 the Code of Ethics. The annual certifi18 cations shall contain a statement that noti19 fies the signatory that section 1001 of title 

20 18, United States Code, applies to the cer21 tification. 

22 ‘‘(B) FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE.— 

23 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Within 180 days 

24 after the date of the enactment of this 

25 paragraph, the Board, in consultation with 


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1 the Chief Ethics Officer, shall prepare a fi2 nancial disclosure form for Covered Indi3 viduals, which form shall— 

4 ‘‘(I) require information about 

5 assets, income, debts, and any other 

6 financial information that the Board 

7 deems appropriate for ensuring that a 

8 Covered Individual is in compliance 

9 with the Code of Ethics established 

10 under subparagraph (A); and 

11 ‘‘(II) be no less extensive than fi12 nancial reports required to be filed 

13 under title I of the Ethics in Govern14 ment Act of 1978 and the regulations 

15 promulgated under such Act. 

16 ‘‘(ii) FINANCIAL REPORTING POL17 ICY.—The Board, in consultation with the 

18 Chief Ethics Officer, shall implement a 

19 policy that— 

20 ‘‘(I) requires each Covered Indi21 vidual and the spouse of the Covered 

22 Individual to annually complete the fi23 nancial disclosure form and submit 

24 the completed form to the General 


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1 Counsel or his or her designee for re2 view; and 

3 ‘‘(II) allows any Covered Indi4 vidual who is required to file financial 

5 reports under title I of the Ethics in 

6 Government Act of 1978 or any other 

7 Federal law to file the financial re8 ports under such title or other law in 

9 lieu of the financial disclosure form 

10 described in this subparagraph, but 

11 the Board may require those who do 

12 so to supplement the financial report 

13 with all information required to be 

14 disclosed under this subparagraph. 

15 ‘‘(iii) COVERED INDIVIDUAL DE16 FINED.—In this subparagraph, the term 

17 ‘Covered Individual’ means any Bank di18 rector, officer, employee, or contractor with 

19 the ability to affect any Bank decision re20 lating to financing, funding, insuring, or 

21 otherwise providing backing to any com22 pany or project. 

23 ‘‘(iv) AVAILABILITY OF COMPLETED

24 FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE FORMS.— 


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1 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The Bank 

2 shall make completed financial disclo3 sure forms available to the Office of 

4 Inspector General for the Bank. 

5 ‘‘(II) PROHIBITIONS.—A com6 pleted financial disclosure form shall 

7 not be made available— 

8 ‘‘(aa) to another Bank direc9 tor, officer, employee, attorney, 

10 or agent, except as necessary to 

11 ensure compliance of a Covered 

12 Individual with this subpara13 graph, the Code of Ethics, or any 

14 applicable law; or 

15 ‘‘(bb) to the public. 

16 ‘‘(C) RULE OF INTERPRETATION.—Noth17 ing in this paragraph shall supersede, modify, 

18 change, or otherwise affect any requirement, 

19 procedure, or restriction applicable to a Bank 

20 employee, officer, or director under the Ethics 

21 in Government Act of 1978 that applies in ad22 dition to the requirements, procedures, and re23 strictions applicable to a Bank employee, offi24 cer, or director under this paragraph.’’. 


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1 SEC. 104. PARALLEL GAAP REPORTING. 

2 Section 8 of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 

3 (12 U.S.C. 635g), as amended by sections 101 and 102 

4 of this Act, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(n) PARALLEL GAAP REPORTING.—With any re6 port issued by the Bank to the Congress or any committee 

7 of the Congress that contains accounting information that 

8 is not prepared using generally accepted accounting prin9 ciples, the Bank shall issue a 2nd report providing the 

10 same accounting information prepared using generally ac11 cepted accounting principles.’’. 

12 SEC. 105. MAKING THE BANK THE LENDER OF LAST RE13 SORT FOR LOANS, ATTEMPTING PRIVATE FI14 NANCING FIRST. 

15 Section 2 of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 

16 (12 U.S.C. 635) is amended by adding at the end the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(l) APPLICANTS FOR BANK ASSISTANCE REQUIRED

19 TO DEMONSTRATE INABILITY TO OBTAIN CREDIT ELSE20 WHERE.—The Bank shall not guarantee, insure, or extend 

21 credit, or participate in an extension of credit in connec22 tion with a transaction, to a privately owned foreign appli23 cant, other than a financial institution, unless the appli24 cant demonstrates to the Bank that— 

25 ‘‘(1) the applicant has sought, and has been un26 able to obtain, competitive financing for the transVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:04 Oct 29, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3847.IH H3847

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1 action without any support from the Overseas Pri2 vate Investment Corporation or the Small Business 

3 Administration; or 

4 ‘‘(2) financing from a foreign export credit 

5 agency is available to the applicant to support com6 parable foreign goods and services competing with 

7 the United States exports that would be financed by 

8 the Bank through the application.’’. 

9 SEC. 106. AUDIT COMMITTEE. 

10 Section 3(c) of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 

11 (12 U.S.C. 635a(c)) is amended by redesignating para12 graph (10) as paragraph (11) and inserting after para13 graph (9) the following: 

14 ‘‘(10) AUDIT COMMITTEE.— 

15 ‘‘(A) MEMBERSHIP.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In addition to such 

17 other duties as they may be appointed to per18 form under subparagraph (5), the directors who 

19 are neither Chairman nor Vice Chairman of the 

20 Board shall constitute the Audit Committee of 

21 the Board. 

22 ‘‘(ii) SPECIAL RULE.—If that there is only 

23 1 director who is neither Chairman nor Vice 

24 Chairman of the Board, the Chief Risk Officer 

25 of the Bank shall be a temporary member of 


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1 the Audit Committee until a 2nd Bank director 

2 who is neither Chairman nor Vice Chairman of 

3 the Board is appointed to the Board. 

4 ‘‘(B) DUTIES.— 

5 ‘‘(i) Within 1 year after the date of the en6 actment of this paragraph, the Audit Com7 mittee shall develop and implement a program 

8 to audit, on a regular and routine basis, the 

9 loan, guarantee, insurance, and credit programs 

10 of the Bank. 

11 ‘‘(ii) The Audit Committee shall— 

12 ‘‘(I) provide assistance to the Board 

13 in fulfilling the accounting and reporting 

14 responsibilities of the Board; 

15 ‘‘(II) evaluate whether the Bank has 

16 adequate administrative and financial con17 trols; 

18 ‘‘(III) review the financial statements 

19 prepared by management for distribution 

20 to the Congress and the public; and 

21 ‘‘(IV) provide direction over the inter22 nal audit function and the independent ac23 countants of the Bank. 

24 ‘‘(C) REPORTS.—The Audit Committee shall re25 port to the Board regularly on its activities but may 


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1 act independently of the Chairman and Vice Chair2 man. 

3 ‘‘(D) PROCEDURAL RULES.— 

4 ‘‘(i) QUORUM.—Two members shall con5 stitute a quorum of the Audit Committee. 

6 ‘‘(ii) ACTION ONLY BY MAJORITY VOTE.— 

7 The Audit Committee may act only by majority 

8 vote.’’. 

9 SEC. 107. REPORT ON PRIVATIZING THE BANK. 

10 Within 270 days after the date of the enactment of 

11 this Act, the President, in consultation with the Advisory 

12 Committee of the Bank, the Comptroller of the Currency, 

13 and the Governors of the Federal Reserve Board, shall 

14 submit to the Committees on Appropriations and Finan15 cial Services of the House of Representatives and the 

16 Committees on Appropriations and Banking, Housing, 

17 and Urban Affairs of the Senate a report on the programs 

18 of the Bank that may be fully or partially privatized, 

19 which report shall— 

20 (1) consider, but not be limited to, the estab21 lishment of a public-private partnership to create a 

22 market window, as allowed under Section 15 of the 

23 Export-Import Bank Act of 1945, to compete 

24 against similar foreign-supported market windows to 

25 maximize private-sector participation; 


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1 (2) include an evaluation of whether the admin2 istration of the insurance and working-capital pro3 grams of the Bank could be partially or completely 

4 privatized; and 

5 (3) include an analysis of the current regulatory 

6 restrictions related to capital-allocation requirements 

7 for pre-export working capital and cross-border lend8 ing in amounts exceeding $25,000,000. 

9 SEC. 108. INDEPENDENT AUDIT OF BANK PORTFOLIO. 

10 (a) AUDIT.—The Inspector General of the Export11 Import Bank of the United States shall conduct an audit 

12 of the portfolio risk management procedures of the Bank, 

13 including a review of the implementation by the Bank of 

14 the duties assigned to the Chief Risk Officer under the 

15 Export-Import Bank Act of 1945. 

16 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the ap17 pointment of the Chief Risk Officer of the Export-Import 

18 Bank of the United Sates, the Inspector General shall sub19 mit to the Committee on Financial Services of the House 

20 of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Hous21 ing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate a written report con22 taining all findings and determinations made in carrying 

23 out subsection (a). 


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1 TITLE II—IMPROVING THE AC2 COUNTABILITY OF THE EX3 PORT-IMPORT BANK OF THE 

4 UNITED STATES 

5 SEC. 201. EARNINGS RETENTION. 

6 Section 2(a)(1) of the Export-Import Bank Act of 

7 1945 (12 U.S.C. 635(a)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘Net 

8 earnings of the Bank after reasonable provision for pos9 sible losses shall be used for payment of dividends on cap10 ital stock.’’ and inserting ‘‘The Bank shall retain not less 

11 than 30 percent of total net earnings as a provision for 

12 possible losses. Notwithstanding the previous sentence, 

13 during any period when the aggregate of such retained 

14 earnings is less than 10 percent of the applicable amount 

15 (as defined under section 6(a)(2)), the Bank shall retain 

16 not less than 80 percent of total net earning as a provision 

17 for possible losses. Net earnings that are not retained as 

18 a provision for possible losses shall be used for payment 

19 of dividends on capital stock.’’. 

20 SEC. 202. OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT AND TERM LIMITS. 

21 Section 3 of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 

22 (12 U.S.C. 635a) is amended— 

23 (1) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘who shall be 

24 chosen from among those individuals with at least 


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1 15 years of banking experience,’’ before ‘‘and who 

2 shall serve as chief executive’’; and 

3 (2) in subsection (c)(8)(A)— 

4 (A) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

5 end; 

6 (B) in clause (iv), by striking the period at 

7 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

8 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(v) no person may serve as the President of 

10 the Bank for more than 2 terms.’’. 

11 SEC. 203. REPAYMENT AS PRIORITY. 

12 Section 2(b)(1) of the Export-Import Bank Act of 

13 1945 (12 U.S.C. 635(b)(1)) is amended— 

14 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘, that 

15 loans, so far as possible consistent with the carrying 

16 out of the purposes of subsection (a) of this section, 

17 shall generally be for specific purposes, and, in the 

18 judgment of the Board of Directors, offer reasonable 

19 assurance of repayment’’; and 

20 (2) by striking subparagraph (C) and inserting 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘(C) The Bank shall conduct all programs 

23 of the Bank in a manner that, in the judgment 

24 of the Board of Directors, offers reasonable as25 surance of repayment and minimizes risk of 


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1 loss. Loans made by the Bank shall be for spe2 cific purposes.’’. 

3 SEC. 204. LIMITATIONS ON OUTSTANDING LOANS, GUARAN4 TEES, AND INSURANCE. 

5 Section 6(a)(2) of the Export-Import Bank Act of 

6 1945 (12 U.S.C. 635e(a)(2)) is amended to read as fol7 lows: 

8 ‘‘(2) APPLICABLE AMOUNT.—In paragraph (1), 

9 the term ‘applicable amount’ means 

10 $130,000,000,000.’’. 

11 SEC. 205. CREDIT RISK. 

12 Section 2(b)(1)(A) of the Export-Import Bank Act 

13 of 1945 (12 U.S.C. 635(b)(1)(A)) is amended by inserting 

14 after ‘‘(as defined in section 10(h)(3))’’ the following: ‘‘, 

15 provided that this objective is accomplished in a manner 

16 calculated to minimize financial risk to the Bank’’. 

17 TITLE III—JOB GROWTH 

18 SEC. 301. MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES. 

19 Section 2(b)(1)(F) of the Export-Import Bank Act 

20 of 1945 (12 U.S.C. 635(b)(1)(F)) is amended to read as 

21 follows: 

22 ‘‘(F) FAIR CONSIDERATION FOR MEDIUM-SIZED EN23 TERPRISES.—In addition to the programs of the Bank to 

24 encourage the participation of small businesses in inter25 national commerce, the policies of the Bank shall give fair 


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1 consideration to making loans and providing guarantees 

2 for the export of goods and services by medium-sized en3 terprises.’’. 

4 SEC. 302. INFLATION ADJUSTMENT. 

5 Section 12 of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 

6 (12 U.S.C. 635i–6) is amended to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 12. INFLATION ADJUSTMENT. 

8 ‘‘Beginning on the date on which the Bureau of 

9 Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor first pub10 lishes the Consumer Price Index after the date that is 1 

11 year after the date of the enactment of this section, and 

12 annually thereafter, the Bank shall adjust all dollar 

13 amounts specified in this Act by the percentage change 

14 in the Consumer Price Index published on that date from 

15 the Consumer Price Index published the previous year.’’. 

Æ 


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