The Committee meets this morning to consider the nomination of James A. Harmon, of New York, to be the Chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States and of Jackie M. Clegg, of Utah, to be the Vice Chairman of the Export-Import Bank. Both terms are to expire on January 20, 2001.
Mr. Harmon received his B.A. from Brown University in 1957 and his MBA in Finance from the Wharton Graduate School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1959. He had a distinguished career in domestic and international investment banking. He most recently served as Senior Chairman of Schroeder, Wertheim and Co., an international investment banking firm headquartered in New York City.
While Mr. Harmon has made his career in the private sector, he has also been involved in a variety of community service activities. He served as Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Barnard-Columbia University Center for Public Policy and as a member of the Executive Committee and Board of Public Policy and as a member of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of the New York City Partnership, the principal vehicle for private sector activities to improve the city's economic and social health. He also served on the Board of the United Way of New York City and on the Advisory Committee on International Capital Markets of the New York Stock Exchange. He is well equipped by his background and experiences to lead the Export-Import Bank.
Jackie Clegg is also well prepared for her new position at the Bank, and I believe will be enormously helpful to Mr. Harmon as he learns the ways of Washington. Jackie received her B.A. from Southern Utah University in Political Science and Communications, and her M.A. from Georgetown University in National Security Studies. In the last four years, Jackie has served at the ExportImport Bank in a number of capacities, including Vice President for Congressional and External Affairs, and is now Chief of Staff at the Bank. Prior to joining the Bank, Jackie worked as a member of the professional staff here on the Senate Banking Committee. She will have a major role to play in helping the Bank get its reauthorization legislation passed this year.
I am pleased that these two professionals have been nominated by the President to lead the Export-Import Bank into the next millennium. The Bank was created in 1934, during the Administration of Franklin Roosevelt, in order to finance trade with the Soviet Union at a time when private banks were not willing to take on that risk. Presently, its role is to promote the sale of U.S. exports in developing markets around the world and to ensure our exporters are not disadvantaged in their efforts to compete for business in those markets. It does this through a variety of export financing programs, including direct loans, financial guarantees to private lenders, commercial and political risk insurance and working capital guarantees. Contrary to some claims, the Export-Import Bank does not just aid our large exporters. In fact, although the Bank's charter requires the Bank to devote ten percent of its program budget to help small business, last year the Bank used twenty one percent of its budget to do so.
One area I would like the nominees to focus on is to ensure the continued success of the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee. This Committee passed legislation creating that Committee in 1992. Former Secretary of Commerce Brown and Former Eximbank Chairman Brody used it to help pull together a national export promotion and financing strategy for this country exactly as required by the legislation. I think we must continue to ensure our country maintains and strengthens that strategy in order to increase our export related jobs and expand markets for U.S. goods and services. I hope the two nominees will continue the leadership role played by the Eximbank in the TPCC.
I think the President has nominated two excellent candidates to lead the Bank
whose skills complement one another. I look forward to any statements they may have
and to working with them in the coming years to expand our country's exports.
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