Help Advocate for U.S. Aerospace Jobs: Support the Export-Import Bank

I am writing to express our support for the full four-year reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank, with an increase in the size of the lending cap. Currently, U.S. exports financed by the Bank support more than 290,000 American jobs. A full four-year reauthorization of the Bank will provide assurance that its financing will be available for exporters and their buyers.

The Ex-Im Bank plays a critical role in our economy. During fiscal year 2011, the Bank supported a total of $40.6 billion in export sales from more than 3,600 large and small U.S. companies. Moreover, the Bank is profitable, returning substantial sums to the U.S. Treasury each year. Since the Bank was last reauthorized, it has earned roughly $3.5 billion for the U.S. government. CBO projects a four-year reauthorization will save the U.S. government over $900 million.

It is also important that the reauthorization include an increase in the Bank’s lending authority. Over the next four years, we expect the demand for U.S. capital equipment and services to grow dramatically. Since commercial banks have not fully rebounded from the financial crisis, the Ex-Im Bank’s role as lender of last resort will be even more critical in the coming years. Extending the Ex-Im Bank’s authorization through 2015 and increasing the lending authority of the Bank will enable thousands of large and small American exporters to compete more effectively in the global marketplace.

With the U.S. economic recovery still uncertain, a failure to reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank and increase its lending authority will be tantamount to unilateral disarmament by the United States as global customers will seek non-U.S. products and services with foreign government financing options that we will not be able to match. Reauthorizing the Ex-Im Bank will assure investors and manufacturers alike that America’s exports can be globally successful and will compete on a fair, level playing field.

It is imperative that Congress act swiftly on the full reauthorization of the Export Import Bank.

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