Business Roundtable

In December 2011 letters to House and Senate leaders, nearly 70 leading CEOs urged reauthorization of the U.S. Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) and an increase in its lending authority cap prior to the end of 2011.  Unfortunately, only a six-month extension was passed and the Bank is expected to reach its existing lending cap before then.  As a result, the letter’s key points are even more urgent now.  In the letter, the CEOs wrote:

• “Failure to reauthorize the Bank at appropriate credit levels will disadvantage U.S. businesses in foreign markets, potentially resulting in the loss of thousands of U.S. jobs.”  
• “…in Fiscal Year 2011, the Bank reports that it supported more than $40 billion in U.S. exports which helped to create or sustain an estimated 290,000 direct and indirect jobs at over 3,600 U.S. small and large companies.”
• “Due to the judicious oversight of Congress and the Bank’s mandate to promote U.S. exports and U.S. jobs, the Bank has returned several billion dollars to the U.S. Treasury since it was last reauthorized in 2006.”
• “…the Bank is critical to the ability of U.S. companies – large and small – to compete on a level playing field against overseas competitors who have unfettered access to similar export credit programs.  We urge you to reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank as soon as possible.”

Read the full CEO letter to House leaders here.

Read the full CEO letter to Senate leaders here.