Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act of 2012 - Amends the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to extend the termination of functions date for the Export-Import Bank of the United States to September 30, 2021.
Eliminates the provision directing the Bank to urge the Foreign Credit Insurance Association to provide 100% coverage against any export loss valued at less than $100,000.
Revises the list of Marxist-Leninist countries ineligible for Bank assistance.
Extends through September 30, 2021: (1) the termination date of the Sub-Saharan Africa advisory committee, and (2) Bank authority to provide financing for the export of nonlethal defense articles and defense services whose primary end use is for civilian purposes.
Extends and specifies aggregate outstanding loan, guarantee, and insurance authority through FY2021.
Provides for textile industry representation on the Bank Advisory Committee.
Requires the Bank to: (1) review its domestic content policy for medium- and long-term transactions; (2) include in its annual report to Congress, at least every every four years beginning in 2012, a five-year strategic plan; and (3) review and report to Congress regarding the Bank's information technology infrastructure.
Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to: (1) report to the Bank and to Congress on the Bank's financial position and the risk it poses to U.S. taxpayers, and (2) issue an annual report on the Bank's international competitiveness and its impact on U.S. employment.
Urges the Bank to increase the export of renewable energy technologies and end-use energy efficiency technologies.
Provides for increased Bank transparency and accountability.
Prohibits Bank financing for persons that engage in certain sanctionable activities with respect to Iran.
[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5444 Introduced in House (IH)]
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5444
To reauthorize the Export-Import Bank of the United States.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 7, 2012
Mr. McDermott introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Financial Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To reauthorize the Export-Import Bank of the United States.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Export-Import Bank Reauthorization
Act of 2012''.
SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY.
Section 7 of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 (12 U.S.C. 635f) is
amended by striking ``2011'' and inserting ``2021''.
SEC. 3. FOREIGN CREDIT INSURANCE ASSOCIATION.
Section 2(b)(1) of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 (12 U.S.C.
635(b)(1)) is amended by striking subparagraph (F).
SEC. 4. TECHNICAL CORRECTION.
Section 2(b)(2)(B)(ii) of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 (12
U.S.C. 635(b)(2)(B)(ii)) is amended by striking subclauses (I), (IV),
and (VII) and by redesignating subclauses (II), (III), (V), (VI),
(VIII), and (IX) as subclauses (I), (II), (III), (IV), (V), and (VI),
respectively.
SEC. 5. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
Section 2(b)(9)(B)(iii) of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 (12
U.S.C. 635(b)(9)(B)(iii)) is amended by striking ``2011'' and inserting
``2021''.
SEC. 6. AGGREGATE LOAN, GUARANTEE, AND INSURANCE AUTHORITY.
Section 6(a)(2) of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 (12 U.S.C.
635e(a)(2)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (D);
(2) by striking ``2011,'' at the end of subparagraph (E)
and inserting ``2011, $100,000,000,000;''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(F) during fiscal year 2012, $120,000,000,000;
``(G) during fiscal year 2013, $140,000,000,000;
``(H) during fiscal year 2014, $160,000,000,000;
and
``(I) during each of fiscal years 2015 through
2021, $200,000,000,000.''.
SEC. 7. DUAL USE EXPORTS.
Section 4 of Public Law 109-438 (12 U.S.C. 635 note; 108 Stat.
4376) is amended by striking ``2011'' and inserting ``2021''.
SEC. 8. MODIFICATIONS TO PROVISIONS RELATING TO TEXTILES.
(a) Representation of the Textile Industry on Advisory Committee.--
Section 3(d)(1)(B) of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 (12 U.S.C.
635a(d)(1)(B)) is amended by striking ``and State government'' and
inserting ``State government, and the textile industry''.
(b) Annual Report Regarding Textile and Apparel Goods.--Section 8
of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 (12 U.S.C. 635g) is amended by
adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(g) Textile and Apparel Supply Chain Financing.--The Bank shall
include in its annual report to the Congress--
``(1) a description of the efforts of the Bank to provide
financing to the United States textile and apparel industry for
exports of textile and apparel goods manufactured in the United
States that are used as components in global textile and
apparel supply chains; and
``(2) the amount of support the Bank provided for the
export of textiles and apparel goods for each of the 3 years
preceding the report.''.
SEC. 9. REVIEW AND REPORT ON DOMESTIC CONTENT POLICY.
(a) In General.--The Export-Import Bank of the United States shall
conduct a review of its domestic content policy for medium- and long-
term transactions. The review shall examine and evaluate the
effectiveness of the Bank's policy--
(1) in maintaining and creating jobs in the United States;
and
(2) in contributing to a stronger national economy through
the export of goods and services.
(b) Factors To Consider.--In conducting the review under subsection
(a), the Bank shall consider the following:
(1) Whether the domestic content policy accurately captures
the costs of United States production of goods and services,
including the direct and indirect costs of manufacturing costs,
parts, components, materials and supplies, research, planning,
engineering, design, development, production, return on
investment, marketing and other business costs and the effect
of such policy on the maintenance and creation of jobs in the
United States.
(2) The ability of the Bank to provide financing that is
competitive with the financing provided by foreign export
credit agencies and the impact that such financing has in
enabling companies with operations in the United States to
contribute to a stronger United States economy by increasing
employment through the export of goods and services.
(3) The effects of the domestic content policy on the
manufacturing and service workforce of the United States.
(4) Any recommendations the members of the Bank's Advisory
Committee have regarding the Bank's domestic content policy.
(5) The effect that changes to the Bank's domestic content
requirements would have in providing companies an incentive to
create and maintain operations in the United States and to
increase jobs in the United States.
(c) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Bank shall submit a report on the results of the
review conducted under this section to the Committee on Banking,
Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate, and the Committee on
Financial Services of the House of Representatives.
SEC. 10. STRATEGIC PLAN.
Section 8 of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 (12 U.S.C. 635g),
as amended by section 8, is further amended by adding at the end the
following new subsection:
``(h) Strategic Plan for the Bank.--
``(1) In general.--The Bank shall include in its annual
report to the Congress under subsection (a) of this section,
not less than every 4 years, beginning in 2012, a 5-year
strategic plan that provides--
``(A) a comprehensive mission statement covering
the major functions and operations of the Bank;
``(B) general goals and objectives, including
outcome-oriented goals, for the major functions of the
Bank;
``(C) a description of the Bank's highest-priority
goals and how they can be achieved within the 5-year
plan period, according to clearly defined milestones;
and
``(D) a description of how the goals and objectives
incorporate views and suggestions obtained through
congressional consultations.
``(2) Progress.--The progress the Bank is making in meeting
the milestones established by the strategic plan shall be
updated in each annual report the Bank submits to the Congress.
``(3) Availability of annual report.--The Bank shall make
its annual report available on its public website.''.
SEC. 11. REVIEW AND REPORT ON BANK'S INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
INFRASTRUCTURE.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Export-Import Bank of the United States
shall conduct a review of the Bank's information technology
infrastructure and report to Congress on--
(1) how the Bank will modernize and continue to maintain
the technology infrastructure, taking into consideration
commercially available technologies or other cost-saving
measures; and
(2) how modernization, maintenance, and other cost-saving
measures will result--
(A) in improved service delivery to customers of
the Bank;
(B) in generally improving the Bank's performance;
and
(C) in mitigating taxpayer exposure to losses.
SEC. 12. STUDY BY THE COMPTROLLER GENERAL ON RISK MANAGEMENT.
(a) In General.--Not later than 18 months after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States
shall complete and submit to the Export-Import Bank of the United
States, the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the
Senate, and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of
Representatives a report--
(1) on the financial position of the Bank and the risks it
poses for American taxpayers; and
(2) that contains recommendations to the Bank on how to
properly account for risk and ensure the solvency of the Bank.
(b) Report.--The report submitted under subsection (a) shall
evaluate--
(1) the effectiveness of the Bank's risk management;
(2) the adequacy of the Bank's loan loss reserves;
(3) the exposure and potential for exposure to losses from
each of the products offered by the Bank;
(4) the overall risk of the Bank's portfolio, taking into
account--
(A) market risk;
(B) credit risk;
(C) political risk;
(D) industry-concentration risk;
(E) geographic-concentration risk;
(F) obligor-concentration risk; and
(G) foreign-currency risk;
(5) the Bank's use of historical default and recovery rates
to calculate future program costs, taking into consideration
cost estimates determined under the Federal Credit Reform Act
of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661 et seq.) and whether discount rates
applied to cost estimates should reflect the risks described in
paragraph (4);
(6) the fees charged by the Bank for the products the Bank
offers, whether the Bank's fees properly reflect the risks
described in paragraph (4), and how the fees are affected by
United States participation in international agreements; and
(7) whether the Bank's loan loss reserves policy is
sufficient to cover the risks described in paragraph (4).
(c) Recommendations and Report by the Bank.--If the Bank does not
adopt the recommendations provided under subsection (a) by the
Comptroller General, the Bank shall submit to Congress, not later than
60 days after the Bank receives the report, a report on why the Bank
has not adopted the recommendations.
SEC. 13. RENEWABLE ENERGY AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY TECHNOLOGIES.
(a) In General.--The Export-Import Bank of the United States should
work to increase the export of renewable energy technologies and end-
use energy efficiency technologies with a goal of significantly
expanding, year-after-year, the Bank's annual aggregate loan,
guarantee, and insurance authorizations supporting those technologies.
(b) Increased Reporting Requirements.--The Export-Import Bank of
the United States shall include in its annual report to the Congress an
analysis of any barriers to realizing the Bank's congressional
directive to increase the Bank's financing for renewable energy
technology and end-use energy efficiency technology and any tools the
Bank needs to assist the Bank in overcoming those barriers. The
analysis shall include barriers such as--
(1) inadequate staffing;
(2) inadequate financial products;
(3) lack of capital authority; and
(4) limitations imposed by domestic markets.
SEC. 14. TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY OF BANK FINANCING.
Section 2(b) of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 (12 U.S.C.
635(b)) is amended by inserting after paragraph (3) the following new
paragraph:
``(3A) Transparency and Accountability of Bank Financing.--
``(A) Preapproval notice.--Not later than 14 days before
any meeting of the Board of Directors for final approval of a
transaction the value of which exceeds $100,000,000, and
concurrent with any statement required to be submitted under
paragraph (3) with respect to the transaction, the Bank shall
post a notice on the Bank's website that includes--
``(i) a description of the transaction proposed to
be financed;
``(ii) the identities of the obligor, principal
supplier, and guarantor involved in the transaction;
and
``(iii) a description of any item with respect to
which Bank financing is being sought.
``(B) Manner of disclosure.--Any information required to be
disclosed under subparagraph (A) shall be disclosed in a manner
that does not disclose any information that is confidential or
proprietary business information, that would violate section
1905 of title 18, United States Code (commonly referred to as
the `Trade Secrets Act'), or that would jeopardize jobs in the
United States by supplying information which competitors could
use to compete with companies in the United States.
``(C) Post consideration.--Not later than 30 days after the
final approval of a transaction the value of which exceeds
$100,000,000, the Bank shall post a notice on the Bank's
website that includes the information required under
subparagraph (A) in a manner that complies with subparagraph
(B).''.
SEC. 15. ANNUAL COMPETITIVENESS REPORT.
Section 8A(a) of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 (12 U.S.C.
635g-1(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(11) Case processing.--A separate section detailing the
Bank's annual survey of exporters, financial institutions, and
brokers regarding the Bank's processing of transactions,
timeliness in reviewing transactions and processing
applications, adherence to financial standards, clarity and
ease of use of applications, and general customer service
during the application and approval process for each of the
Bank's major programs.
``(12) Operations.--A separate section detailing the Bank's
annual survey of exporters, financial institutions, and brokers
regarding the Bank's documentation requirements,
certifications, and processing of applications for medium- and
long-term program transactions compared to the processing of
applications by other export credit agencies.
``(13) Process improvement.--A description of the
recommendations made by the Bank's Advisory Committee and the
advisory committee on Sub-Saharan Africa established under
section 2(b)(9)(B) regarding improving the Bank's processing of
transactions and customer service. The Bank shall make every
reasonable effort to act on the recommendations of the advisory
committees and shall include a separate section detailing the
actions taken by the Bank to comply with the
recommendations.''.
SEC. 16. ANNUAL REPORT ON INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS AND IMPACT ON
JOBS OF THE EXPORT-IMPORT BANK.
Not later than 270 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Comptroller General shall issue a report describing the
following:
(1) The ways in which the Export-Import Bank of the United
States compares to the export credit agencies of all the other
developed and middle-income countries that have such agencies,
including the industries covered, the amount of financing
provided by the agencies as compared to the total value of
exports, the quality of packaging of financing and the effects
of the support on completed competitive transactions, the
overall level and types of support offered by the agencies, and
the policy direction of each such country with respect to its
export credit agency and their support of their domestic export
promotion compared to those services provided by the Export-
Import Bank of the United States; and
(2) The estimated net gains in employment in the United
States enabled by the support provided by the Export-Import
Bank of the United States on an annual basis, by sector and, to
the extent possible, by State.
SEC. 17. PROHIBITIONS ON FINANCING FOR CERTAIN PERSONS INVOLVED IN
SANCTIONABLE ACTIVITIES WITH RESPECT TO IRAN.
(a) Prohibition on Financing for Persons That Engage in Certain
Sanctionable Activities.--
(1) In general.--Beginning on the date that is 180 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Board of
Directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States may
not approve any transaction that is subject to approval by the
Board with respect to the provision by the Bank of any
guarantee, insurance, or extension of credit, or the
participation by the Bank in any extension of credit, to a
person in connection with the exportation of any good or
service unless the person makes the certification described in
paragraph (2).
(2) Certification described.--The certification described
in this paragraph is a certification by a person--
(A) that neither the person nor any other person
owned or controlled by the person--
(i) engages in any activity described in
section 5(a) of the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996
(Public Law 104-172; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note) for
which the person may be subject to sanctions
under that Act;
(ii) exports sensitive technology, as
defined in section 106 of the Comprehensive
Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment
Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 8515), to Iran; or
(iii) engages in any activity prohibited by
part 560 of title 31, Code of Federal
Regulations (commonly known as the ``Iranian
Transactions Regulations''), unless the
activity is disclosed to the Office of Foreign
Assets Control of the Department of the
Treasury when the activity is discovered; or
(B) if the person or any other person owned or
controlled by the person has engaged in an activity
described in subparagraph (A), that--
(i) in the case of an activity described in
subparagraph (A)(i)--
(I) the President has waived the
imposition of sanctions with respect to
the person that engaged in that
activity pursuant to section 4(c),
6(b)(5), or 9(c) of the Iran Sanctions
Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-172; 50
U.S.C. 1701 note);
(II)(aa) the President has invoked
the special rule described in section
4(e)(3) of that Act with respect to the
person that engaged in that activity;
or
(bb)(AA) the person that engaged in
that activity determines, based on its
best knowledge and belief, that the
person meets the criteria described in
subparagraph (A) of such section
4(e)(3) and has provided to the
President the assurances described in
subparagraph (B) of that section; and
(BB) the Secretary of State has
issued an advisory opinion to that
person that the person meets such
criteria and has provided to the
President those assurances; or
(III) the President has determined
that the criteria have been met for the
exception provided for under section
5(a)(3)(C) of the Iran Sanctions Act of
1996 to apply with respect to the
person that engaged in that activity;
or
(ii) in the case of an activity described
in subparagraph (A)(ii), the President has
waived, pursuant to section 401(b)(1) of the
Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability,
and Divestment Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C.
8551(b)(1)), the application of the prohibition
under section 106(a) of that Act (22 U.S.C.
8515(a)) with respect to that person.
(b) Prohibition on Financings.--Beginning on the date that is 180
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Board of
Directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States may not
approve any transaction that is subject to approval by the Board with
respect to the provision by the Bank of any guarantee, insurance, or
extension of credit, or the participation by the Bank in any extension
of credit, in connection with a financing in which a person that is a
borrower or controlling sponsor, or a person that is owned or
controlled by such borrower or controlling sponsor, is subject to
sanctions under section 5(a) of the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 (Public
Law 104-172; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note).
(c) Advisory Opinions.--
(1) Authority.--The Secretary of State is authorized to
issue advisory opinions described in subsection
(a)(2)(B)(i)(II).
(2) Notice to congress.--If the Secretary issues an
advisory opinion pursuant to paragraph (1), the Secretary shall
notify the appropriate congressional committees of the opinion
not later than 30 days after issuing the opinion.
(d) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees; person.--The
terms ``appropriate congressional committees'' and ``person''
have the meanings given those terms in section 14 of the Iran
Sanctions Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-172; 50 U.S.C. 1701
note).
(2) Controlling sponsor.--The term ``controlling sponsor''
means a person providing controlling direct private equity
investment (excluding investments made through publicly held
investment funds, publicly held securities, public offerings,
or similar public market vehicles) in connection with a
financing.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E713)
Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
Referred to the Subcommittee on International Monetary Policy and Trade.
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