WASHINGTON – Joint Economic Committee (JEC) Ranking Democrat Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., issued the following statement Tuesday on the failure of the Republican Congress to extend the charter of the Export Import Bank before it expires at midnight tonight:

“The Export-Import Bank charter has expired and, without Congressional action, it will need to scale back its operations. This is a tragedy because Ex-Im supported 164,000 American jobs last year.

“Foreign competition is fierce and we should not be unilaterally disarming. The world’s largest exporters – including China and South Korea – all have export credit agencies helping their small businesses claim a larger share of the world market.

“Export-Import Bank  Chairman Fred Hochberg observed in a recent speech that Ex-Im, in its 81 years of operation, has done under $600 billion in export financing while – and I’m quoting here ­– ‘China has done a minimum—and this is just what we know about—of about $670 billion… in the last two years alone.’

“We should be giving American businesses a level playing field not ceding export markets to foreign competitors. It’s outrageous that Republicans have put ideology ahead of America’s economic interests.”

 

 

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