Date: 2015-06-10
Speaker: MAXINE WATERS (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker and Members. I rise this morning to sound the alarm. and I want my colleagues to understand that there are just 10 legislative days remaining for Congress to act before the ExportImport Bank shuts down. It is outrageous that we are here today. in this countdown. as the hands of the clock have become a knifeedge pressed against the future of American businesses and the jobs they create. The ExIm Bank has a proven track record of supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs in every single congressional district across this country. and the fact that anyone would even consider shutting it down is shortsighted. and it is harmful to our economy. ExIm supports our businesses and our workers. all while not costing taxpayers a dime. In fact. over the past two decades. the Bank has generated a profit of close to $7 billiona true winwin for our taxpayers. Yet. for the ideologues who are committed to chopping away government programs that support our Nations students and seniors. exporters. and others. the facts dont really matter. They just see ending the Bank as a conservative litmus test. Mr. Speaker. it is simply shameful that the extremist. antigovernment wing of the Republican Party has. once again. pushed us to the brink of actively damaging our Nations businesses and our competitiveness with this standoff. It doesnt have to be this way. A majority of the House of Representatives is already on record in its support of a longterm reauthorization of the Bank. It is time for Speaker BOEHNER to intervene by immediately putting a measure up to keep its doors open for a vote on the House floor. For 2 years. despite the calls from Democrats and Republicans. Chairman HENSARLING has made it clear that this manufactured crisis is exactly what he has wanted all along. This is not a fight between Democrats and Republicans. It is a fight between ideology and reason in the Republican Party. While the ideologically driven crusade to eliminate the Bank may be a game here in Washington. it certainly isnt a game for the hundreds of thousands of our businesses all over this country. For example. lets take Michael Boyle. a Republican and a veteran. who recently testified that. thanks to the Bank. he has been able to quadruple his companys revenue and expand his business from just 8 employees to 60 currently. Mr. Boyles story is the American story of thousands of businesses. large and small. across this country that rely on the Bank to compete on the global stage. Nevertheless. in the United States Congress. we are talking about shutting down one of the best resources our businesses havejust to make a political statement. As the deadline for reauthorizing the Bank nears. I have been encouraged to increasingly hear from some of my Republican colleagues who have come out and said. "Enough is enough." As a matter of fact. as I sat in committee. I was very pleased to hear Mr. FINCHER. a Republican. say that his wife told him: You dont represent and you dont work for the chairman of the committee. Mr. Hensarling. You dont work for the Speaker. Mr. Boehner. You work for the people who elected you to come to Congress.