Rep. Johnson Votes to Reopen Job-Creating Export-Import Bank

Press Release

Rep. Johnson voted with 312 other Democratic and Republican colleagues in the House to pass H.R. 597, a bipartisan bill to reauthorize the job-creating Export-Import Bank.

The Export-Import Bank helps level the playing field for American manufacturers and small businesses hoping to compete and sell their goods in foreign markets and succeed in the global economy. At absolutely no cost to taxpayers, the bank directly supported 164,000 American export-related jobs in the last year alone, and has created or sustained 1.5 million private sector jobs since 2007 including supporting more than 200 companies and nearly 30,000 jobs in Georgia.

"It has been nearly four months since the charter for the Export-Import Bank expired. Four months of lost economic opportunity for businesses large and small in the Fourth District and across Georgia," said Rep. Johnson. "Today, I stood with virtually all my Democratic colleagues and over 120 Republicans brave enough to buck their leadership and proudly voted to pass and send to the Senate the bipartisan Kirk-Heitkamp bill to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank, which the Senate passed earlier as an amendment to the Highway bill."

On October 9, after months of inaction by House Republican leaders, Rep. Johnson along with 175 Democrats and 42 Republicans took historic action and signed a discharge petition to force the House Republican leadership to bring H.R. 597 reauthorizing the Ex-Im Bank to a vote. Last night, the House voted to discharge the bill and begin debate on the legislation. Today, the House passed the bill by a vote of 313-118.

"The American manufacturers and small businesses that the Ex-Im Bank supports are the backbone of the American economy. Georgia businesses, workers and the communities they support will benefit from the Bank's reauthorization. That we had to literally force this critical legislation to the floor with a rarely successful procedural measure is shameful," said Rep. Johnson. "I am glad that a number of my Republican colleagues finally put partisan politics aside to work with us to send this bipartisan bill to the Senate and then onto the President for his signature."

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