WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) today released the following statement after the House voted to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank:

“The Export-Import Bank is vital to small businesses in Minnesota and across the country that rely on the Bank to enter new markets all over the world. The Export-Import Bank has historically been reauthorized with broad bipartisan majorities and we already know there is bipartisan support in the Senate. Today’s bipartisan vote in the House is an important step toward continuing to give our businesses the support they need to sell their goods all over the globe. Now it is time for the Senate to act.”

Klobuchar has been a major advocate for the Export-Import Bank. She cosponsored an amendment in July to reauthorize the Bank, which passed the Senate with a strong bipartisan vote as part of the comprehensive surface transportation bill. Also in July, she met with President Obama and senior White House officials to discuss the importance of reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank and work on a strategy to get that done. She led a meeting in June with small business leaders from across the country about the importance of reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank.

Congress allowed the Bank’s charter to expire at the end of June, threatening crucial financing that businesses rely on to help boost their exports and create good jobs all across the country. Since 1934, the Export-Import Bank has helped fuel U.S. exports to foreign markets across the globe. In Minnesota alone, the Export-Import Bank has supported $2 billion in exports and helped over 170 businesses in the last five years alone, nearly two-thirds of which were small businesses.

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