COLUMN: NEBRASKA'S ECONOMY GETS GOOD NEWS FROM WASHINGTON

Senator Ben Nelson

Much of what we do in the U.S. Senate seems wonkish, no doubt about it. To the average person legislation sounds pretty boring. But, when you explain it in plain English and how it impacts people, there’s more interest, especially when it means hundreds of millions of dollars and thousands of jobs.

Such is the case with the reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank that was passed by Congress last month on a strong bipartisan vote and signed into law by the President last week. On the surface this sounds boring, but when you consider that this is America’s vehicle for promoting U.S. export sales, it’s not so boring, especially in Nebraska.

Case In Point - Nebraska

Nebraska’s number one Industry is agriculture and for agriculture to prosper it depends extensively on selling our many products to other countries.
Without this law, the Export-Import Bank’s charter would have expired at the end of May causing turmoil with America’s exports. Nebraska would have been hit especially hard because our state alone exported products worth $7.6 billion in 2011. Nationally, the bank supported more than $41 billion in export sales.
Ex-Im Bank Equals Jobs
The mission of the Bank, which has operated since 1934, is to create and sustain U.S. jobs by financing sales of U.S. exports to international buyers. In fiscal year 2011, authorizations by the Bank supported an estimated 300,000 American jobs at approximately 4,000 American companies.
Nebraska businesses export goods as diverse as agricultural products, metals, plastics, and motor vehicle parts to Canada, Mexico, Australia and many other countries. Over the past five years, Nebraska’s businesses made more than $300 million in sales supported by the Export-Import Bank.
Business & Bipartisan Support
It’s hard to believe, but there was some vocal opposition to the bill. Fortunately, critics like Americans for Prosperity were greatly outnumbered and the bill passed with considerable support from both sides of the aisle, passing the House 330 to 93 and the Senate 78 to 20. Opposition boiled down to a philosophical difference to the bank’s purpose. But American exporters can’t be expected to compete on an unlevel playing field with exporters from other countries, especially when the competition has significant financial backing from their respective governments.
The bill also enjoyed widespread support from the business community, including the National Association of Manufacturers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, whose president, Thomas Donohue, noted that failure to reauthorize the Bank would have amounted to unilateral disarmament and cost thousands of American jobs.
Nebraska depends on world markets and we have to preserve the tools that our exporters need to remain competertive globally. Each year, more Nebraska businesses find new opportunities in selling our many products to other countries.
Reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank ensures Nebraska exporters can continue participating in the global marketplace on a level playing field with their competitors. Reauthorization of the bank means, basically, that the U.S. will not be the only player in the game without a helmet and that’s good news for Nebraska.