WASHINGTON, D.C. – With the support of U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), the U.S. Senate tonight passed an amendment to the transportation bill that reauthorizes the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank), the nation’s official export credit agency and a key export tool that helps companies in Maine and across the country sell their products in international markets. The bank’s charter had expired on June 30^th due to Congressional inaction.

“The Export-Import Bank is a valuable tool for many small businesses in Maine and thousands more across the country. Not only does the agency help create and support jobs, but it does so while generating a profit for the U.S. Treasury – a true win-win for American businesses and American taxpayers,” Senator King said. “The Senate was right in voting to reauthorize this valuable source of export financing, and I urge the House to follow suit so that businesses can continue to grow, innovate, and create jobs here in America.”

Since 2007, the Ex-Im Bank has supported more than $264 million in exports from 13 companies in 12 communities in Maine. Nationally, it has supported nearly $189 billion in exports over the last five years. The Ex-Im Bank is self-supported through interest payment and fees, and turns a profit for the American taxpayers. The Bank transferred approximately $675 million in revenue to the U.S. Treasury in 2014 and has returned over $7 billion to the Treasury over the past two decades. Since its creation nearly 80 years ago, language to extend the bank’s authority has been approved by Congress more than 40 times.

In June, King spoke on the Senate floor about the importance of the Im-Bank and its support of small businesses in Maine, highlighting the critical impact the bank has had on New Gloucester’s Planson International and Auburn Manufacturing, Inc.

Business groups around the country – including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, and the Business Roundtable – support the bank’s reauthorization. The bank has historically received strong bipartisan support.

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