Bernie Sanders Joined Republicans In Opposition to the Export-Import Bank, Which Supports American Jobs and New York Businesses
Washington, D.C.–Today, Hillary Clinton announced new plans to help support manufacturing jobs across the United States. While Hillary outlines her detailed plans to protect existing American jobs and create new ones, Bernie Sanders has a record of joining Republicans in voting against American jobs by opposing the Export-Import Bank.
Sanders’ position would hurt New York’s economy. From 2011 to 2016, the Export-Import Bank supported $6 billion in New York exports for 156 New York small businesses. And General Electric planned to move New York jobs to Europe and China following Congress’ failure (with Sanders’ help) to reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank. It is clear who will be the best candidate to create American jobs and make sure more products are Made in America: Hillary Clinton.
Sanders Opposes the Export-Import Bank
2015: Bernie Sanders called the Export-Import Bank “corporate welfare to multi-national corporations,” adding, “if [if it isn’t reformed] it should be eliminated.” “An opponent of the Export-Import Bank, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement today after the Senate voted on an amendment related to a five-year reauthorization of the bank: ‘At a time when almost every major corporation in this country has shut down plants and outsourced millions of American jobs, we should not be providing corporate welfare to multi-national corporations through the Export-Import Bank. ‘Instead of providing low-interest loans to multi-national companies that are shipping jobs to China and other low-wage countries, we should be investing in small businesses and worker-owned enterprises that want to create jobs in the United States of America. If the Export-Import Bank cannot be reformed to become a vehicle for real job creation in the United States, it should be eliminated.’” [Senator Bernie Sanders, 6/10/15]
2015: Bernie Sanders opposed reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank. On July 27, 2015, Bernie Sanders opposed adoption of the Kirk, R-Ill., amendment no. 2327 to the McConnell, R-Ky., substitute amendment, as modified, that would amend and reauthorize until Sept. 30, 2019 the Export-Import Bank’s charter. The McConnell substitute amendment would provide a six-year authorization of surface transportation programs, with enough offsets to cover three years of shortfalls in the Highway Trust Fund. Adopted 64-29 : R 22-28; D 41-0; I 1-1. All Senate Democrats supported the proposal. [HR 22, Vote #256, 7/27/15; CQ Floor Votes, 7/27/15]
2012: Bernie Sanders opposed reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank. On May 5, 2012, Bernie Sanders opposed the passage of the bill that would reauthorize through Sept. 30, 2014 the charter for the U.S. Export-Import Bank. It would incrementally increase to $140 billion, from $100 billion, the cap on outstanding loans, guarantees and insurance that the bank is authorized to have at any given time. Note: By unanimous consent, the Senate agreed to raise the majority requirement for passage of the bill to 60 votes. A ‘yea’ was a vote in support of the president’s position. Passed (thus cleared for the president) 78-20 : D 50-0; R 27-19; I 1-1. All Senate Democrats supported the proposal. [HR 2072, Vote #96, 5/15/12; CQ Floor Votes, 5/15/12]
Ex-Im Bank is Important to New York’s Economy
From 2011 to 2016 the Ex-Im Bank supported $6 billion in New York exports and 156 New York small businesses. [Ex-Im Bank, (accessed, 4/1/16)]
General Electric planned to move New York jobs to Europe and China following failure to reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank. “General Electric Co., a longtime beneficiary of the U.S. Export-Import Bank, is moving 500 jobs to France, Hungary and China after Congress halted the agency’s ability to offer new financing. ‘We’ve got $11 billion of active tenders that require some form of export credit financing,’ GE Vice Chairman John Rice said Tuesday in a telephone interview. ‘We’ve got to start making some choices about where those products will be manufactured in order to qualify for export credit financing. Frankly, we’ve been pushed to do this.’ Positions now in South Carolina, Maine, New York and Texas, including some Houston-based packaging operations for gas turbines, are being shifted, GE said. A new agreement with French export credit provider Coface to back global power projects will trigger a shift to that country, GE said. GE has been threatening such a move for months as it urges lawmakers to revive the agency, which provided almost $1 billion in credit assistance to the company’s international customers last year. GE says the loss of Ex-Im financing imperils overseas sales of products such as diesel locomotives, gas turbines and jet engines.” [Crain’s New York, 9/15/15]
- City of Schenectady where GE employs 7,000: “We do not blame GE for this action. Instead, we blame Congressional leaders in other states that fail to recognize the critical role that the Export-Import Bank plays in creating and sustaining jobs in places like Schenectady.” “It has not yet determined exactly how many of those jobs would be moved from Schenectady, where it manufactures generators and steam turbines. GE has previously used Ex-Im financing to sell those products overseas. According to a statement from Congressman Paul Tonko, the job cuts in Schenectady could be in the hundreds. GE noted in a statement that the U.S. remains the only major economy in the world without an Export Bank. The bank is an important source of financing for exporters, including GE. With no U.S. export financing available, the conglomerate had to pursue options outside the U.S. The City of Schenectady issued a statement about the announcement on Tuesday. ‘We do not blame GE for this action. Instead, we blame Congressional leaders in other states that fail to recognize the critical role that the Export-Import Bank plays in creating and sustaining jobs in places like Schenectady,’ the city said in the statement. ‘GE’s hand was forced today by the failure of Congress to act. The company is actually prohibited from bidding on overseas work in many cases without the involvement of an export credit agency, which every developed nation in the world has except the United States due to the failure of Congress to re-authorize the Ex-Im Bank.’ GE employs about 7,000 people in the region. GE Power & Water is headquartered in Schenectady, along with GE Renewables and GE Power Generation. GE Global Research has 3,000 employees in Niskayuna. GE Healthcare, GE Licensing and other outlets also are based in the region.” [Albany Business Review, 9/15/15]
The Hudson Valley’s manufacturer’s association urged Congress to reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank “For the sake of New York’s economy.” “The Export-Import Bank, America’s official export credit agency, plays an essential role in the New York economy. Unfortunately, it’s set to shut down this summer unless Congress reauthorizes it. For the sake of New York’s economy, our federal representatives must step in and do just that. Businesses small and large rely on Ex-Im for lending and other financial help to facilitate their entry into lucrative foreign markets. This is especially true for small and medium sized companies looking to sell in emerging markets. Indeed, more than 270 New York businesses have relied on Ex-Im to finance export sales. Here in the Hudson Valley, we’ve seen the importance of the Ex-Im Bank firsthand. Curtis Instruments is celebrating its 50th anniversary. With help from the Ex-Im Bank, the Mount Kisco-based company has grown into a world leader in electric vehicle instrumentation and controls. With lending assistance from the bank, Curtis Instruments increased export shipments by $3.8 million since just 2010. Over the last several years, the SP Industries location in Ulster County gained more than $300,000 in export sales. The company’s products, including laboratory equipment that is vital in pharmaceutical and biotechnology research, are now reaching more people than ever. In 2012, support from the bank also helped Allstate Apple Exchange in Milton ship more than $56,000 worth of delicious Hudson Valley apples to international buyers. But these Hudson Valley companies aren’t alone. The Ex-Im Bank has helped businesses all across New York.” [Harold King, Executive Vice President of the Council of Industry (the manufacturer’s association for the Hudson Valley), Op-ed, Poughkeepsie Journal, 6/15/15]
Ithaca, New York based hardwood company: “With Ex-Im Bank, we are able to get much higher advance rates on export-related inventory and receivables than we are able to get through our local bank.” “Supporters of reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank say some New York businesses will have a tougher time growing sales overseas if Congress doesn’t vote to let the bank make new loans after Sept. 30. The bank, the federal government’s export credit financing agency, has helped 126 New York companies finance $2 billion in exports since 2012. Tioga Hardwoods based near Ithaca has been exporting since 2003 and currently does 65-to-70-percent of its hardwood lumber sales through exports. Almost all of those shipments go to Asian countries such as China, Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. The Export-Import Bank has provided Tioga Hardwoods with $7.18 million in credit insurance for foreign receivables and a working line of credit since 2012 that has supported $21.48 million in exports. ‘With Ex-Im Bank, we are able to get much higher advance rates on export-related inventory and receivables than we are able to get through our local bank,’ co-owner Scott Snyder said in an email. ‘This frees up more credit and allows us to expand sales.’” [Star Gazette, 8/20/14]
The New York Times: “Congress should ignore the ridiculous arguments against the bank and reauthorize [Export-Import Bank].” “In one of their odder quests, some Tea Party members have decided that the United States must shut down the Export-Import Bank of the United States, an obscure but important federal agency that helps American businesses sell their goods abroad. The bank provides loans and loan guarantees to foreign businesses to help them buy American products and services. In an ideal world, businesses would obtain such financing from privately owned banks. But most governments around the world support exports in similar ways, and if the United States dismantled the bank unilaterally, as some lawmakers are advocating, American companies could lose billions of dollars in overseas orders and decide to move their operations to other countries that provide generous export financing. […] Though Mr. Hensarling has clout as chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, the bank has strong support elsewhere in Congress. Most Republicans and the Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers support reauthorization, as do most Democrats and the A.F.L.-C.I.O. Congress should ignore the ridiculous arguments against the bank and reauthorize it.” [New York Times Editorial, 6/24/14]
Sanders’ Stance Puts Him at Odds with New York Democrats
The entire New York Democratic Congressional delegation supported Ex-Im Bank reauthorization. “Other companies in the region that have used the bank since 2012 include Dresser-Rand in Painted Post ($6.6 million) and STORFLEX Fixture Corporation in Corning which manufactures retail display shelves ($88,263). Conservative House Republicans who are blocking a vote on reauthorization — led by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling of Texas — say taxpayers shouldn’t be underwriting risky deals that commercial banks won’t. They argue that the Ex-Im Bank is rife with ‘crony capitalism,’ and the free market will operate more efficiently if its charter expires. All six House Republicans in the New York congressional delegation, however, back reauthorization, along with all delegation Democrats. Republican Rep. Tom Reed of Corning said the bank ‘gives U.S. manufacturing companies the tools they need to make it here and sell it there and keep those jobs here in the U.S.’ ‘To unilaterally kill the Export-Import Bank would be a huge hit to the competitiveness of American companies,’ Reed said.” [Star Gazette, 8/20/14]
Senator Chuck Schumer
Senator Chuck Schumer pushed Congressional colleagues to reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank, calling the it “one of the key… for supporting and growing manufacturing jobs across New York state for a generation.” “‘The Ex-Im Bank has been one of the key tools in our toolbox for supporting and growing manufacturing jobs across New York state for a generation, which is why casting that critical resource aside and letting the bank expire last year was short-sighted and wrong,’ Schumer said in a statement Tuesday. ‘I’m pleased to announce that today, after pushing my colleagues over the past year, Congress has voted to re-authorize the Export-Import Bank and once again make it clear we will do all we can to help level the playing field for our upstate New York companies and support our manufacturing workers.’ The Ex-Im Bank has been unable to help GE secure export orders since the summer when its funding lapsed. GE says that hundreds of jobs in Schenectady were going to be cut as work would be moved overseas to get export financing from other governments. Such export financing guarantees are often required by government power plant orders. Most of the turbines and generators made in Schenectady are exported. The House had previously reached a deal to reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank, and Senate leaders had said they would likely be only able to do the same through the federal transportation bill.” [Albany Times Union, 12/1/15]
Senator Chuck Schumer blamed opposition to the Ex-Im Bank on “a small group of ideologues” in Congress. “On the western edge of Plattsburgh there’s an industrial park where you can find working factories like the Swarovski Lighting plant. Three hundred-fifty people work here assembling high end lamps and crystal chandeliers. The company exports half of the fancy lights to Europe and South America. Just in from Utica, United States Senator Chuck Schumer takes a quick tour of the factory. He stops to admire a glistening chandelier and then it’s time to get down to business. ‘So, we’ve always believed that our federal government ought to help our companies export. And there is an agency that’s not that well known, but very important, that’s done that through the years. And it’s called the Export-Import Bank.’ For companies like Swarovski Lighting, the Export-Import Bank does a big lift. It assumes some of the risk for the company with insurance and loans. But now Schumer says that financial help could go away. ‘It used to be passing the Ex-Im bank was a layup. It wasn’t even controversial. It would get overwhelming support from everybody of every political party, and every political philosophy. So we can’t let a small group of ideologues stop that from happening, of either party.’” [NCPR, 9/4/14]
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand supported reauthorization of the Ex-Im Bank saying failure to do so would mean “there would be less opportunity for New York businesses.” “Democratic U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York said the Ex-Im Bank most benefits small businesses just getting off the ground as exporters. ‘If your local community bank isn’t familiar with companies in Italy or cross-border transactions, they aren’t going to loan you money,’ she said. ‘But Ex-Im is going to loan you money. It’s just another source of capital that’s helpful.’ Gillibrand, who did an April ‘fly around’ to several upstate communities with Export-Import Bank President Fred Hochberg, said some small-business owners they met with were unaware of the opportunities for export assistance. ‘If Ex-Im went out of business and wasn’t reauthorized, what I think it would mean is there would be less opportunity for New York businesses,’ she said. ‘And some might not ever get off the ground. Because it’s usually that early stage financing to start increasing exports, to introduce our great products to new markets.’ Gillibrand expects the reauthorization to pass the Senate in September. ‘Most of the Senate Republicans that I’ve talked to think it’s a great business model,’ she said. ‘It made $1 billion last year. It’s not only good for our government, it’s good for the bottom line.’” [Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, 8/5/14]
Sanders’ Stance Puts Him in the Company of Republicans
Ted Cruz
Ted Cruz on him and Bernie Sanders both opposing Import-Export Bank reauthorization: ‘This is an issue where Bernie and I are in complete agreement. We need to end this corporate welfare.’ ‘The Texas Republican has praised Sanders in the past. ‘I respect honesty in politics. Bernie admits he’s a socialist,’ Cruz said on MSNBC in July. He has also joked about him and Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail, telling audiences the Democratic race for president consists of a ‘wild-eyed socialist … and Bernie Sanders.’ The two men stood on the same side of an issue in the summer: opposing the renewal of the Export-Import Bank. ‘The one person who’s standing up strong is Bernie Sanders,’ Cruz said in July. ‘This is an issue where Bernie and I are in complete agreement. We need to end this corporate welfare.’’ [Washington Post, 2/3/16]
Donald Trump
Donald Trump on Export-Import Bank: “I don’t like it because I don’t think it’s necessary.” According to Bloomberg, “Trump also had some red meat for the conservative base, saying he wants to shut down the Export-Import Bank. ‘I don’t like it because I don’t think it’s necessary,’ the real estate mogul said. ‘It’s a one-way street also. It’s sort of a featherbedding for politicians and others, and a few companies. And these are companies that can do very well without it. So I don’t like it. I think it’s a lot of excess baggage. I think it’s unnecessary. And when you think about free enterprise it’s really not free enterprise. I’d be against it.’” [Bloomberg, 8/4/15]
Speaker Paul Ryan
Speaker Paul Ryan opposed reauthorizing the Ex-Im Bank, calling it ‘corporate welfare.’ ‘Wisconsin’s First District Congressman and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan delivered the following remarks in opposition of H.R. 597, legislation to reauthorize the Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank. ‘Mr. Speaker, I want to express my strong disapproval for this bill for the Export-Import Bank. ‘This is a pretty profound debate we are having. It’s about what kind of economy we’re going to have. Are we going to reward good work or good connections? ‘I think there are plenty other ways to expand opportunity in this country, and corporate welfare is not one of them. The biggest beneficiaries of this bank, two-thirds of their money go to 10 companies. Forty percent goes to one company. ‘And this bank does cost money—just ask the Congressional Budget Office when they use real scorekeeping. Remember Fannie Mae? Remember their accounting? Remember when they told us they weren’t going to cost any money—until they did? And it cost us billions. ‘The other excuse that I just don’t buy is, ‘other countries do this, so should we.’ We shouldn’t acquire other countries’ bad habits. We should be leading by example. We should be exporting democratic capitalism, not crony capitalism.’’ [Office of Rep. Paul Ryan, 10/27/15]
Koch Brothers
Koch Industries urged Congress to oppose reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank. ‘Dear Member of Congress: On behalf of Koch Industries, I am writing to urge you to oppose reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank of the United States. The Ex-Im Bank is yet another example of the government intervening in the market to pick winners and losers. It confers benefits granted by the American people as a whole to a small number of well-connected corporations. It socializes the risk of economic activity while benefiting relatively few companies. We respectfully ask Congress to allow the Ex-Im Bank to expire.’ [Koch Industries, 3/3/15]