Ex-Im Bank helped Arizona businesses finance $2 billion in exports over the last five years
Sinema’s reauthorization of the Bank is the longest ever
WASHINGTON – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema is leading an effort to support Arizona jobs and business opportunities—introducing today a bipartisan 10-year reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank with Republican Senator Kevin Cramer (N.D.) ahead of the bank’s expiration on September 30th.
“The Export-Import Bank is critical for my state’s economy because it ensures Arizona businesses can compete, and win, on a level playing field with foreign competitors. Our bipartisan renewal provides certainty to employers across our country, and represents a step away from Congress’s usual short-term crisis management,” said Sinema, a member of the Senate Banking Committee.
Over the past year, the Export-Import Bank helped 37 Arizona businesses, including 27 small businesses, finance over $57 million in exports, creating good jobs in Arizona and growing the state’s economy. For a total list of Arizona exporters utilizing the Export-Import Bank click HERE.
Currently, the Export-Import Bank is set to expire on September 30th unless Congress takes action. The Senators’ bipartisan plan includes a 10-year extension of the Export-Import Bank’s authority, the longest ever proposed. The plan provides for a quorum fix to ensure American exporters don’t lose out on job-creating deals due to Congressional gridlock. The Bank lost its quorum in mid-2015, rendering it unable to consider major deals or implement reforms to protect taxpayers and modernize its operations. The Senate restored a quorum in May by confirming three nominees to the Bank’s board. The bipartisan plan also increases the Export-Import Bank’s exposure cap over 7 years to $175 billion, ensuring the Bank can help close our trade deficit and compete with countries like China.