Date: 2012-05-09
Speaker: GARY G. MILLER (republican)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself as much time as I might consume. Today we are considering H.R. 2072. the Securing American Jobs Through Exports Act. a bill which will reauthorize the ExportImport Bank. This legislation is the product of bipartisan discussions surrounding a common theme: maintaining and creating jobs in the United States. The key to our economic recovery is jobs. without a doubt. In order to expand and hire new workers. American companies must have the ability to compete in a global economy. To create jobs. American companies need to be competitive with foreign companies that have access to credit in their countries. While the U.S. is a leading voice in the effort to eliminate marketdistorting export subsidies. the ExIm Bank has helped to ensure that theres a level playing field for American companies when they compete with foreign competitors who are basically supported by aggressive credit agencies. ExIm responds to market distortion by leveling the playing field. ExIm loans and guarantees are often countervailing measures to compete against other foreign credit agencies. Some Members have concerns about this program. This bill directs the Treasury Department to initiate and pursue negotiations with other countries to substantially reduce their subsidized export financing programs and other forms of export subsidies. The problem we face is the option of allowing China to dominate the export market. This bill ensures that U.S. companies. large and small. can compete and win against foreign competitors like China and. as a result. create U.S. jobs without putting U.S. taxpayers at risk. During the reauthorization process. we have made taxpayer protection our top priority. This bill includes strong language to ensure that surpluses that the ExIm Bank returns to the Treasury are continued today and in the future. We want the bank to be a continually selffinancing entity. The bill increases accountability and risk management requirements for the bank. as well as provides for an audit of bank transactions to monitor the effectiveness and adequacy of the banks due diligence practice and lending policies. The bill ensures that the bank stays true to its purpose as a lender of last resort and does not compete against private sector commercial banks. The bill includes language to make sure default rates stay low. ExIm loans and loan guarantees present very low risks because they are backed by collateral of the real goods for which a buyer has already been found and prices have been agreed upon. The current default rate at the bank is less than 2 percent. much lower than commercial banks. Even with the banks track record of extremely low defaults. the bill includes language to ensure that default rates stay below 2 percent. and includes corrective action requirements if the rate ever goes above that level. The bank does not put taxpayers at risk now. Our goal in this bill is to ensure that the bank does not put taxpayers at risk in the future either. The bill also includes a new transparency provision for large transactions and gives the public the opportunity to comment on such transactions. The provision seeks to ensure the bank has information it needs to confirm it is not supporting transactions used to support products that could be used to compete with American companies. This provision was crafted in a way that does not impact U.S. companies ability to sell their products and services to global customers. Proprietary information. confidential information. and trade secrets are absolutely protected in this provision. In addition. while many of the large projects supported by the bank are known to the market. I want to emphasize that the bank. at its sole discretion. has the authority to determine the information disclosed to ensure that the competitiveness of American companies is not compromised by information provided by the Federal Register notice. The legislation also provides information included in the technology improvements. a review of the banks domestic content policy. and improvements to the access of textile industries to bank operations. This is absolutely necessary in this country. These provisions will ensure that our American companies can utilize bank products to compete globally. This is not a subsidy and is no cost to the taxpayers. That needs to be emphasized. The way ExIm Bank allows U.S. companies to compete globally is an example of how our government can facilitate job growth without contributing to the national debt. Far from being a handout to corporations. ExIm Bank is selffinancing. it turns a profit for the American taxpayer. and it helps create jobs here at home. Since 2005. the bank has forwarded more than $3.4 billion in profits to the Treasury above all costs and loss reserves. including $400 million in 2011 alone. The legislation before us today ensures that ExIm Bank will continue to turn a profit for American taxpayers. Some will say that ExIm only benefits large corporations. However. small businesses account for 87 percent of ExIms transactions. These small business transactions do not include the tens of thousands of small- and mediumsized businesses that supply goods to these large corporations. Dave Ickert. vice president of Air Tractor of Olney. Texas. a small business engaged in the manufacturing and sale of agriculture and firefighting planes. said at one point in our hearing: ExIm has contributed to the growth of Air Tractor and helped both create and maintain jobs in Olney. Texas. ExIms support has allowed us to sell aircraft to customers who without that support would not have purchased our product. This is a direct contribution to our growth. Air Tractor has 270 employees in a town that has a population of 3.000. Over 10 percent of the population who are adults work for this company in this town. Its the largest employer in Olney. Since 1994. when they did the first ExIm transaction. their export sales have increased from 10 percent of what they produced to 56 percent. With 56 percent export sales in 2010. there are over 100 employees at Air Tractor in Olney. Texas. that owe their jobs and have their jobs due to use of ExIm bank. Mr. Ickert said: As I have described it before. Olney is three red lights and a Dairy Queen. and the significance of this is that if we can create jobs on Main Street Olney through small business exporting. it can be done in small businesses from California to New York. If we can do it in Olney. Texas. we can do it all over this country. Once again. I would like to thank my colleagues from both sides of the aisle for coming together to put American jobs before politics. Together. we have crafted a strong bill to ensure the bank is able to continue to support U.S. companies as they compete globally and. as a result. create American jobs. I reserve the balance of my time.