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Today, Congressman Paul Tonko (D-NY) signed a discharge petition to force the House to vote on legislation that would reauthorize the Export-Import Bank, a vital institution that creates American jobs and empowers American manufacturers to access and compete in foreign markets.  Only 25 legislative days remain until Republicans’ refusal to act shutters the Export-Import Bank on June 30.


“Shutting down the Export-Import Bank is a blow to American workers, American manufacturers, and the American economy,” said Tonko.“This institution supports more than $1 billion in total sales in the Capital Region – half of which involves local small businesses. These small businesses that sell alarm systems, electronics, or swimming pools to some of the largest employers in New York’s Capital Region work with the Ex-Im Bank to keep our economy humming on the local and national level.”


The Export-Import Bank helps level the playing field for American manufacturers hoping to compete and sell their goods in foreign markets.  At absolutely no cost to taxpayers, the bank directly supported 164,000 American export-related jobs in the last year alone, and has created or sustained 1.3 million private sector jobs since 2009.


“Congress needs to support manufacturing jobs instead of manufacturing crises on its own,” concluded Tonko.


The discharge petition calls for a vote on H.R. 1031, the Promoting U.S. Jobs Through Exports Act – a bill to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank’s charter for seven years and restore certainty to the bank’s future.  The House Republican Leadership has refused to bring the bank’s reauthorization to the floor even though H.R. 1031 has the support of 190 Democratic Members, and a separate measure to reauthorize the bank has the support of over 60 Republican Members.  The discharge petition will require the House to consider the reauthorization legislation once a majority of Members of Congress (218) have signed the petition.


In 2013, the Export-Import Bank supported $37 billion in exports that, in turn, sustained more than 200,000 jobs at 3,400 companies. Small and medium businesses account for nearly ninety percent of the Bank’s transactions.


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