The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 4863, The United States Export Finance Agency Act of 2019, legislation introduced by Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, to reauthorize and improve the Export-Import (EXIM) Bank which supports American workers, businesses and the economy.
It was passed by a vote of 235-184.
The EXIM Bank was established 85 years ago and is the official export credit agency of the United States. Over the last ten years, the EXIM Bank has supported more than 1.5 million American jobs at no cost to the taxpayer, financed more than $255 billion in U.S. exports, and remitted more than $3.4 billion in deficit reducing receipts to the Treasury.
In the state of California, the EXIM Bank financed $9 billion worth of exports from 589 different exporters between 2014-2019.
In California’s 43rd District, the EXIM Bank is currently financing $269 million worth of exports from 13 different exporters, including 10 small businesses.
H.R. 4863, The United States Export Finance Agency Act of 2019:
- Helps American companies and workers compete globally;
- Bolsters EXIM’s ability to support jobs and small businesses;
- Enhances accountability, resiliency and inclusivity of EXIM; and,
- Prevents bad actors from accessing EXIM support.
In October, Chairwoman Waters convened a full Committee markup of H.R. 4863 and three other bills. H.R. 4863 was passed out of Committee by a vote of 30-27.
This legislation is supported by a diverse range of American companies and workers including AFL-CIO, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, North America’s Building Trade Unions, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the National Association of Manufacturers.
