WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today joined with his colleagues Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) on the Senate floor to call on Congress to support American businesses and workers by reauthorizing the Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank of the United States, whose charter expired on June 30^th due to Congressional action.

“I hope that my colleagues in both houses, on both sides of the aisle will join with us to make a simple reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank so that it can continue to do the good work that it’s done on behalf of businesses in Maine, and North Dakota, and Texas, and California, and New York, and all over this country,” Senator King said in his remarks. “This is just common-sense. [The Bank] fills a gap in the private market which is not filled by private enterprise, which has been in business for over 80 years, which helps and assists businesses large and small across America, and returns money to the Treasury.”

Last week, General Electric announced that it would likely cut hundreds of jobs across the country – including up to about 80 in Bangor, Maine – because Congress failed to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank. The next day, Senator King spoke on the Senate floor and highlighted the important role that the Ex-Im Bank plays.

“One of the staff members of the committee in the other body which has not reauthorized [the Ex-Im Bank] said, well, for General Electric, this is a drop in the bucket,” Senator King said today about the possible GE job losses. “Well, Mr. President, of those 400 or 500 jobs that General Electric is talking about, 80 of them are at a General Electric plant in Bangor, Maine, and 80 jobs – good jobs in Bangor, Maine – is not a drop in the bucket. And I would invite that staff member to come to Bangor, Maine and talk to the families of those people who are going to lose their job because of this ridiculous policy of not reauthorizing a governmental agency that is serving the public needs of this country, particularly in an age of expanding global trade.”

Senator King has repeatedly called for the reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank and, in July, he supported an amendment to the highway funding bill that would have done so. The amendment passed by an overwhelming margin but the House of Representatives failed to take up the legislation.

Senator King’s remarks on the floor today are available HERE.

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