Bill will help foster job creation and protect American manufacturing [October 27, 2015]
U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) today voted to support legislation that will reform and reauthorize the charter of the Export-Import Bank, which expired on June 30th. Pascrell helped to force a vote on the bill - over the objections of House Republican leaders - by signing a bipartisan discharge petition earlier this month offered by Rep. Fincher (R-TN). The bill passed with an overwhelming vote of 313 -- 118, including a majority of House Republicans.
"After putting more than 164,000 jobs at risk, the House has finally done the right thing and put the American people first," stated Pascrell. "With all we know about how important the Export-Import Bank is to creating jobs and boosting American manufacturing, I am pleased that we took this long-overdue step toward reauthorizing this valuable institution. I've visited local businesses, both large and small, that would lose significant revenue and struggle to compete without the Ex-Im Bank. The bank creates much-needed certainty and stability for American companies and keeps us competitive in the international economic arena. Our job is not finished yet - I urge the Senate to advance the House bill, send the bill to the President, and get Americans back to work."
In the lead up to the Ex-Im charter expiring, Pascrell has held multiple events in the Ninth Congressional District to highlight the local impact of the Ex-Im Bank, including news conferences with local chambers of commerce at local employers like Argo Turboserve Corporation (ATC) in Lyndhurst, and DriTac Flooring Products, Inc., a manufacturing facility in Clifton. Since 2007, the Ex-Im Bank has helped support $5 billion in exports from 245 exporters in New Jersey. In New Jersey's 9th Congressional District, it has supported $430 million in exports.
Rep. Pascrell is an original cosponsor of the Promoting U.S. Jobs Through Exports Act, H.R. 1031, which would reform and reauthorize the Export-Import Bank for an additional seven years, creating much-needed certainty and stability for American businesses.
The Ex-Im Bank is an independent federal government agency and official export credit agency of the United States. It operates under a renewable charter and helps finance U.S. exports of manufactured goods and services. In FY2014, Ex-Im approved 3,746 transactions, which amounted to $20.5 billion in commitments, estimated by Ex-Im Bank to support $27.5 billion in U.S. exports of goods and services. The Ex-Im Bank has returned nearly $7 billion to the U.S. Treasury since 1990, including $675 million in Fiscal Year 2014 alone.