releases: https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=18F298AD-D62E-4462-93F5-76F8112C161D
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=18F298AD-D62E-4462-93F5-76F8112C161D | With Heitkamp Support, Four Export-Import Bank Board Nominees Advance in Senate who would Enable Bank to Fully Operate | 2017-12-19 | 2017 | 2017-12 | Democrat | House | ND | Heidi Heitkamp | H001069 | www.heitkamp.senate.gov | legacy | Congress Passed Heitkamps Bipartisan Bill to Reauthorize the Bank in 2015 WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today helped pass out of the Senate Banking Committee four nominees to serve on the Export-Import Banks Board of Directors, getting the Banks board one step closer to having the quorum it needs to fully operate and support American jobs and businesses, including many in North Dakota. Heitkamp also joined Republicans and Democrats in blocking the nomination of Scott Garrett to lead the board. As a Congressman, Garrett voted to kill the Bank, making him unqualified to lead it. Heitkamp spoke out against Garretts nomination at a hearing last month. Today we took a long-awaited step toward helping manufacturers and small business owners across the country including many in North Dakota get the support they need to compete on a global scale, Heitkamp said. The Export-Import Bank provides capital for American businesses to invest and create jobs, and has turned a profit for taxpayers since its inception more than 80 years ago. But for years, it has been crippled by congressional inaction, which has forced some businesses to move American jobs abroad. Congress needs to support American workers and businesses, and thats why getting the Bank fully functioning is so important. The full Senate must now vote to confirm these nominees so that the Bank can fully operate and help our businesses compete in the global economy. In North Dakota alone, businesses have $50 million of authorizations from the Bank that could be put at risk in the future if it doesnt have a full board seated. Across the country, hundreds of thousands of jobs have been put in jeopardy because of the uncertainty surrounding the Bank, as over $37.5 billion of deals wait in limbo to be approved by the Board. Heitkamp pressed President-elect Trump to get the bank fully functioning in a meeting at Trump Tower in December 2016, and she secured a commitment from him to get the Bank up and running in a meeting shortly after he was sworn in. Background on the Export-Import Bank In June 2015, Congress let the Export-Import Bank expire for the first time in the agencys more than 80 year history. In December 2015, Congress passed Heitkamps legislation to reauthorize the Bank with strong bipartisan support. But the agency still hasnt been able to fully function. The Export-Import Bank is an independent federal government agency and the official export credit agency of the United States. Former Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) had refused for a year to hold a committee vote on the then-nominee to the Ex-Im Bank Board. This inaction prevented the lack of a quorum on the five-member board and halted the agency from financing deals over $10 million. As a result, it has hindered support for American jobs and businesses including for small suppliers of companies that use the Bank and prevented them from remaining competitive in the global economy. Some American companies have already been forced to move American jobs overseas because they have not been able to access financing from the Ex-Im Bank. The Ex-Im Bank has helped North Dakota businesses grow, expand, and hire more American workers, supporting $42 million in exports since 2011 from North Dakota alone, as well as 633 jobs across the state by providing loans, loan guarantees, and insurance to facilitate overseas sales by U.S. firms. ### | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |