Press Releases

(Washington, D.C.) – Congressman Larry Bucshon, M.D. (IN-08) released the following statement after voting against House Democrats’ partisan legislation to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank of the United States (H.R. 4863):

“The Export-Import Bank is an important tool that helps support American jobs – including many jobs in the Eighth District of Indiana – by enabling our manufacturers selling American-made products abroad to compete on a more level playing field with our foreign competitors.  The Bank enjoys strong bipartisan support for its mission to support American exports and jobs, and House Republicans negotiated in good faith with House Democrats and agreed to a bipartisan bill to reauthorize the Bank. Yet, House Democrats have chosen to play politics with the livelihood of Hoosiers whose jobs are supported by the Bank and walked away from this deal. Instead of passing a bipartisan reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank that can pass the Senate and be signed into law by President Trump, House Democrats have chosen to force a vote on a bill that the Senate will not take up and that President Trump has said he will veto. This partisan bill has no path forward because House Democrats saddled it with the creation of massive bureaucracy and burdensome regulation that would negate the purpose and efficiency of the program. Furthermore, they removed commonsense protections that prevent U.S. tax dollars from subsidizing Chinese government-controlled entities. While I support the Export-Import Bank and want to vote to reauthorize it, I cannot support House Democrats’ partisan reauthorization.”

    

Background

Dr. Bucshon co-sponsored an amendment to H.R. 4863 which would simply extend the authorization of the Export-Import Bank for an additional 10-years under its current structure.  President Trump supports this approach to reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank.  

Dr. Bucshon signed a discharge petition to bring up the bipartisan, negotiated Export Import Bank reauthorization for a vote.

In its current form H.R. 4863 would:

·       Weaken support for small business by delaying a rise in Ex-Im’s small business mandate until the year 2028.

·       Gut reforms requiring Ex-Im to show that:
             Heavy users of the Bank need Ex-Im as a lender of last resort.
             Financing for those users does not help foreign entities at the expense of U.S. jobs.

·       Eliminate a due diligence review to ensure that Ex-Im didn’t subsidize Chinese government-controlled entities that are involved in:
             China’s military and intelligence operations
             The Belt and Road Initiative
             Human rights abuses and corruption
             Intellectual property theft and illicit technology transfer