BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AJR 14
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AJR
14 (Chu)
As Introduced May 7, 2015
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+--------------------+----------------------|
|Jobs |8-0 |Eduardo Garcia, | |
| | |Kim, Brown, Chau, | |
| | |Chu, Gipson, Irwin, | |
| | |Mathis | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Memorializes the Legislature's desire for the United
States (U.S.) Congress to support legislation reauthorizing the
Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank).
Specifically, this resolution:
1)Makes findings and declarations that, among other things, state:
a) The Ex-Im Bank is the official export credit agency of the
U.S. and exists for the purposes of financing and insuring
foreign purchases of U.S. goods for customers unable or
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unwilling to accept the credit risk;
b) The Ex-Im Bank has supported more than $400 billion in
U.S. exports in the past 70 years and helps to cover critical
trade finance gaps by providing loan guarantees, export
credit insurance, and direct loans for U.S. exports in
developing markets where commercial bank financing is
unavailable or insufficient. For federal fiscal year (FFY)
2014, the Ex-Im Bank provided $20.5 billion in loan
guarantees which leveraged $27.5 billion in exports while
supporting 164,000 U.S. jobs;
c) The Ex-Im Bank is a self-sustaining agency, which operates
at no cost to the taxpayer and over the last three fiscal
years has generated more than $3 billion in fees from its
foreign customers which were deposited in the U.S. Treasury
to reduce the U.S. deficit and indebtedness;
d) Over the past five years, the Ex-Im Bank has assisted more
than 967 California companies to export their products.
Nearly 200 of those companies are owned by women or
minorities and over 700 are small businesses. These
companies export their products and services around the globe
totaling more than $21 billion in sales. Fifty-two of the 53
congressional districts in California had companies benefit
from the Ex-Im Bank loans; and
e) Legislation is pending before the 114th U.S. Congress that
would continue the Ex-Im Bank's capacity for creating jobs
while also making its practices more accountable and
transparent, as well as making the bank more solvent and
self-sufficient.
2)Resolves that the California Legislature desires the U.S.
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Congress to support the reauthorizing of the Ex-Im Bank.
FISCAL EFFECT: None
COMMENTS: The Ex-Im Bank is operating on a short-term extension
of its charter, which expires on June 30, 2015. The Ex-Im Bank's
mission is to assist U.S. companies in exporting goods and
services to international markets. California benefits through
jobs, tax dollars, and related development associated with being a
strategic business location within the global economy.
Ex-Im Bank has shown over its 80 years of operations to be an
important tool for U.S. companies interested in doing business in
other countries. The Ex-Im Bank does not compete with private
sector lenders but provides export financing products that fill
gaps in trade financing. It assumes credit and country risks that
the private sector is unable or unwilling to accept. It also
helps to level the playing field for U.S. exporters by matching
the financing that other governments provide to their exporting
businesses.
Although the Ex-Im Bank's charter has been extended numerous
times, in the last several years its actions have come under
criticism by conservative groups relative to the appropriateness
of its role in aiding private businesses in their export
activities. Supporters of the Ex-Im Bank, including the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce, strongly advocate for its reauthorization
because its ability to meet unmet business transaction needs,
which serves to level the playing field for U.S. firms exporting
into markets where their foreign competitors receive similar
government supported assistance. This resolution seeks state
legislative support for federal advocacy to support the
reauthorization of the Ex-Im Bank. With California businesses
being one of the largest users of Ex-Im Bank programs,
California's opinion on reauthorization has particular merit in
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the national debate.
In deliberating the appropriateness of this resolution, Members
may wish to consider the importance of trade within the California
economy, the continuing need for programs to assist businesses in
accessing capital and new markets, and the demonstrated ability of
the federal government to operate the Ex-Im Bank without ongoing
costs to the public.
Background on Ex-Im Bank: The Ex-Im Bank is a wholly owned U.S.
government corporation, which was established by the U.S. Congress
to provide market-oriented public services and to produce revenues
to meet its expenditures. The Ex-Im Bank provides a variety of
financial and insurance products that are designed to fill gaps in
private export financing. Its charter was last extended through a
FFY 2015 continuing resolution which expires June 30, 2015. The
Ex-Im Bank operates at no cost to American taxpayers and over the
past two decades the Bank has generated nearly $7 billion more
than the cost of its operations.
In the FFY 2014, the Ex-Im Bank approved $20.5 billion in
financial authorizations, which supported an estimated $27.5
billion in export sales and approximately 164,000 U.S. jobs. Of
the total transactions in 2014, approximately 89% (3,347) were
with small business for a total of $5.9 billion.
Between 2012 and 2015, $7 billion in financial authorizations went
to 704 California exporters, which supported $14 billion in
exports. Of those exporters, 533 were small businesses, 90 were
minority-owned businesses, 63 were women-owned businesses, 10 were
businesses in renewable energy, and 34 were environmentally
beneficial.
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Analysis Prepared by: Toni Symonds / J.,
E.D., & E. / (916) 319-2090 FN: 0000510