Statement on Scott Garrett Meeting with 9 Senate Democrats on his Nomination to Serve as Chair of Export-Import Bank

Statement

Today, a group of nine Senate Democrats met with Scott Garrett, the nominee to serve as the chairman of the Export-Import Bank. The meeting included U.S. Senators Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Patty Murray (D-WA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Chris Coons (D-DE), and Joe Donnelly (D-IN). The senators issued the following joint statement:

"Today's meeting was bizarre. Scott Garrett -- one of the most vocal opponents of the Export-Import Bank while he was in Congress -- agreed to speak with us about his nomination, but during the meeting, he wouldn't discuss his personal thoughts about the Bank and its mission," said the senators. "He refused to confirm that he would unequivocally support reauthorizing the Bank, with the current authorization expiring in September 2019. And he clearly knew very little about the critical work the Bank is doing to support small businesses and expand opportunities for U.S. manufacturers, which was both surprising and concerning. So we're supposed to trust that someone who has extensive history undermining and disparaging the Bank will now support and lead it even though he doesn't seem to believe his own words? We need a nominee who truly believes in the mission of the Bank and who wants to support and defend an agency that has a more than 80 year history supporting American jobs and businesses. The Bank has overwhelming support from Republicans and Democrats in Congress, and we need a leader of the Bank who also fully stands by its goals."