Post by bot on Sept 22, 2015 20:44:09 GMT -5
Hoyer Remarks During Press Conference Call on the Impact of Republicans'
Shutdown of the Export-Import Bank
WASHINGTON, DC – House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) joined Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Maxine Waters (CA-43); Representative Denny Heck (WA-10); Small Business Majority CEO John Arensmeyer; and small business owner Kevin Jones, president of Cardinal Resources, on a press conference call today to discuss the impact of Republicans' decision to shut down the Export-Import Bank and Speaker Boehner’s refusal so far to put a bill on the Floor to reopen it. Below is a transcript of his opening remarks:
“Thank you [to] all of our reporter friends for joining us. Obviously, I want to thank Maxine Waters, the Ranking Member of the Financial Services Committee. [Rep.] Denny Heck, who is from Washington state, also on the Financial Services Committee. Gwen Moore, who is the Ranking Member on the subcommittee that handles Export-Import Bank, could not be with us. But I thank all of you for being on the phone.
“I’m going to be brief, simply to say, obviously, that [Republicans] continue to irresponsibly harm our economy, harm small businesses, medium-sized businesses, and large businesses because of our refusal to put on the Floor – when I say ‘our,’ Speaker Boehner, frankly, and Majority Leader McCarthy’s refusal to put the reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank on the Floor, where as I have said in the past, it has over 300 votes in the House of Representatives, in my opinion, to pass it. Indeed, when we last authorized it in May of 2012, it had 330 votes for it, 93 against it – every Democrat voted for it and 147 Republicans voted for it. So, we are hurting our economy, hurting small businesses.
“[Speaker] John Boehner said if we don’t reauthorize it, it would cost us jobs. So, the Speaker acknowledges what we are not doing, not putting this on the Floor is hurting our economy. Senator Roy Blunt from Missouri, the former Majority Whip of the House of Representatives, has said that there are clearly enough votes in the Senate to pass this as well [the Senate passed it 64 to 29], so it is irresponsible of us not to act. And we are urging the Republican leadership to put this bill on the Floor before the September 30 end of the fiscal year.”
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