HR0385 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0385 LRB101 12452 ALS 60603 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The Export-Import Bank was founded in 1934 amid the Great Depression to help struggling exporters in the United States facilitate international trade; and

WHEREAS, At the time, President Franklin D. Roosevelt saw that U.S. exporters were desperate for overseas customers; foreign markets lacked sufficient capital to finance international trade; and

WHEREAS, Ever since, the Export-Import Bank has subsidized loans and loan guarantees in addition to capital and credit insurance to benefit U.S. exporters; and

WHEREAS, While obscure to most Americans, The Export-Import Bank is the object of protracted debate in Congress, as the expiration of its charter quickly approaches on September 30, 2019; and

WHEREAS, For several years, the Export-Import Bank has been without a fully-functioning board, which suspends its ability to approve deals worth more than $10 million; and

WHEREAS, The lack of a fully-functioning Export-Import Bank is harmful to Illinois' economy in that Illinois-based companies, including Boeing, Caterpillar, and John Deere are some of its largest customers; and

WHEREAS, To this end, the lack of a fully-functioning export credit agency to compete with other countries around the world translates into lost trade opportunities and significant job losses for Illinois; and

WHEREAS, More than 100 other export credit agencies across the globe provide export support to their national companies; as of 2017, the export credit agencies of Japan and Korea had $187 billion in medium and long-term exposures; Canada, Germany, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom had $306 billion; China had an estimated $363 billion; by comparison, the Export-Import Bank has an exposure of approximately $70 billion, about one dollar for every five of China's; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that that we strongly encourage Congress to pass a long-term reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank before its charter expires on September 30, 2019; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be delivered to the members of the Illinois congressional delegation.