May 30, 2012

PRESIDENT SIGNS EXPORT-IMPORT BANK REAUTHORIZATION INTO LAW

Local South Dakota Business Attends White House Bill Signing Ceremony

WASHINGTON – Today, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson (D-SD) commended President Obama on signing the Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act (H.R. 2072) into law. The legislation signed into law today is the product of a bipartisan compromise based on a framework developed by Chairman Johnson and unanimously approved in the Senate Banking Committee last year. The new law authorizes the Export-Import Bank until 2014, and will help provide U.S. exporters with financing to sell their products and compete in the global marketplace.

“By reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank we have taken an important step in supporting American businesses and workers all across the country,” said Johnson. “American manufacturers produce the highest quality exports and that is why they are in such high demand. With the help of the Ex-Im Bank our exporters will continue to provide a needed boost to our struggling economy.”

Late last month, Chairman Johnson toured Rosenbauer America in Lyons, South Dakota to get a firsthand look at the benefits of the Ex-Im Bank. Rosenbauer America uses the bank’s financing to export some of the world’s best fire trucks to Central and South America. The tour was led by Harold and Helen Boer, President and owners of Rosenbauer America. The company currently exports approximately 35-40 percent of the fire trucks produced in Lyons and employs about 270 workers. In appreciation of their hard work and dedication to the Lyons community, Chairman Johnson asked the White House to invite the Boers to the White House bill signing ceremony.

“It was wonderful to see all the great work being done in Lyons, when I visited Harold and Helen at Rosenbauer America,” said Senator Johnson. “Rosenbauer America is a perfect example of how small American manufacturers, with the help of the Ex-Im Bank, are creating good-paying jobs here at home, so I thought it was fitting for the White House to invite Harold and Helen to the bill signing ceremony.”

The new law authorizes the Export-Import Bank until 2014, and will help provide U.S. exporters with the financing to sell their products and compete in the global marketplace. H.R. 2072 incorporates many important provisions from the Senate bill, including enhanced transparency and accountability requirements for the Bank, stronger restrictions against companies doing business with Iran, and a robust domestic content requirement to ensure Bank-supported exports are made in America. The law also increases the Bank’s lending authority to $140 billion, a significant improvement over the $113 billion originally proposed in the House. This higher lending authority will ensure the Export-Import Bank can grow to meet the future needs of American exporters. The Bank was expected to reach its previous lending cap of $100 billion in the coming months and had the lending cap not been increased exporters like Rosenbauer of America would have been forced to lay off American workers.

The Export-Import Bank is the official export credit agency of the United States and it assists in financing exports to international markets. For more than 77 years, the Ex-Im Bank has helped American businesses sell their goods and services abroad.

The Bank is self-funding, charging interest and fees to its customers and turning a profit for American taxpayers. Overall, the Ex-Im Bank has returned nearly $2 billion to the U.S. Treasury since 2008.

-30-