ICYMI: Tim Scott, Conservatives Fight For Ex-Im

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During today’s Senate Banking Committee hearing, Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) shared the success stories of two “major players” in South Carolina job creation who have been able to survive and thrive because of Ex-Im financing. Scott highlighted Sage Automotive Interiors, which has offices in Spartanburg, Marietta and, Greenville, and Grace Management Group in Spartanburg.

Scott joins a continuously growing chorus of conservative voices calling for a long-term reauthorization of the Ex-Im Bank. These conservatives support the Ex-Im Bank because it supports jobs and growth.

Below are a small sample of these conservative voices, including elected officials.

As always, please let me know if I can be of further assistance,

-Kate

South Carolina Representative Joe Wilson

Georgia Congressman Buddy Carter (GA-01)

  • Representative Buddy Carter (GA-01) Looks For Ex-Im Reauthorization In First Term. “More work needs to be done on the federal budget, he said, along with the federal highway bill and the reauthorization of the Export-Import https://exportersforexim.org/files/2015/06/bank, which makes loans to foreign countries and companies that do business in the u.s. local industries, like the 1st district’s largest employer, gulfstream, have a lot at stake in whatever decision is made on the export-import bank, carter said. though the federal government is divided between the republican-controlled congress and the democrat-controlled executive branch, carter said he remains positive work can be done.” (Kelly Quimby, “U.S. Rep. Carter: Representing Community Not Always What He Expected,” Savannah Morning News, 2/16/15)

Hugh Hewitt, Author And Conservative Radio Show Host, And Dan Renberg, Conservative And Former Ex-Im Board Member

  • Ex-Im Is A Backstop And Lender Of Last Resort: “No One In Their Right Mind Would Go To A U.S. Government Agency If They Didn’t Have To.” “And the thing that a lot of people don’t realize is, and this offends me sometimes when I hear some of the Republicans using this kind of rhetoric, saying we’re putting all the taxpayer dollars at risk. Well, we’re not. Ex-Im Bank does the same kind of trade reference checks and due diligence that you’d expect a commercial bank to do. But it takes the risk where commercial banks won’t. It’s very important for people to understand. Ex-Im Bank is a lender of last resort, an insurer of last resort. No one in their right mind would go to a U.S. government agency if they didn’t have to. It’s always quicker and easier to work with a U.S. commercial bank or an export credit insurance company than to work with the federal government. You only go to Ex-Im Bank when you absolutely have to.” (Hugh Hewitt and Dan Renberg, “Yes To Reauthorizing The Export-Import https://exportersforexim.org/files/2015/06/bank,” Hugh Hewitt, 4/27/15)

John Bolton, Former Ambassador To The United Nations

  • Ex-Im Must Be Renewed Because It Is An “Arm Of U.S. National-Security Policy.” “Bluntly stated, the Ex-Im Bank is, therefore, also a political weapon. Whether in sales of big-ticket items that have military as well as civilian applications (such as airplanes and high-tech components), or in American exports into particularly sensitive countries and regions (such as Latin America, where China is vigorously expanding its ‘commercial’ presence), the Ex-Im Bank has been an arm of U.S. national-security policy.” (John Bolton, “A Reaganesque solution to the Ex-Im Bank dilemma,” Washington Times, 5/26/15)

Texas Governor Rick Perry*

  • Governor Rick Perry Says That Failing To Reauthorize The Ex-Im Bank Would Cost U.S. Jobs. “In a letter to congressional leaders and copied to the Texas congressional delegation, Perry said failure to reauthorize the bank would cost the U.S. jobs and drive up the cost of U.S. goods. Perry also said Texas, the largest exporting state in the nation, would see the biggest negative effect.” (Brett Logiurato, “The Tea Party Is Trying To Kill The Export-Import https://exportersforexim.org/files/2015/06/bank — and rick perry is trying to save it,” Business Insider, 6/27/14)

*Governor Perry supported the Ex-Im Bank before he was against it.

Iowa Senator Joni Ernst

  • Sen. Ernst Says U.S. Companies Need Ex-Im To Compete. “‘Iowa’s economy — we have many spin-off industries, like Vermeer, we have John Deere, and they rely on Ex-Im Bank,’ she said. ‘And as long as other countries offer that opportunity to their exporters, I think that’s something that we need to offer to our industries, also.’” (Kevin Cirilli, “GOP Senate Hopeful Backs The Ex-Im https://exportersforexim.org/files/2015/06/bank,” The Hill, 8/20/2014)

Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum

  • Failing To Reauthorize The Ex-Im Bank Would Be “Tying The Hands Of Our Manufacturers.” “Former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum sharply criticized efforts to abolish the Export-Import https://exportersforexim.org/files/2015/06/bank on friday, arguing that doing so would be ‘tying the hands of our manufacturers.’ When asked about reauthorization of the institution at a summit hosted by Eagle Forum, Santorum said, ‘I think it’s a mistake for us to be out there focused on the Export-Import https://exportersforexim.org/files/2015/06/bank.’” (Philip Wegmann, “Santorum Rejects GOP ‘Libertarian Strain,’ Supports Ex-Im,” The Daily Signal, 7/11/14)

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad

  • Ex-Im Must Be Reauthorized So Iowa Businesses Can “Compete Against Their Foreign Counterparts In New And Higher-Risk Markets.” “The Ex-Im Bank is an important tool for Iowa businesses seeking to expand their markets. We believe reauthorization provides an opportunity for Congress to enact needed reforms to ensure the program’s success and long-term sustainability. From 2007 to early 2015, the Ex-Im Bank helped support nearly $250 million of exports from more than 50 Iowa businesses – a majority of which are small businesses. The Ex-Im Bank has helped grow exports from areas such as food manufacturing, machinery manufacturing, and plastics and rubber products manufacturing… We believe in a culture of continual improvement and that is why we would support efforts to improve the Ex-Im Bank moving forward.  Given that other countries utilize similar tools, your help in reauthorizing Ex-Im Bank is important to enable the financing that American businesses, especially those with little or no export experience, need to compete against their foreign counterparts in new and higher-risk markets.  In addition, Ex-Im Bank fees have brought revenue into the U.S. Treasury.” (Terry Branstad, Letter To Iowa Congressional Delegation, 4/21/15)