Dupage Policy Journal

Fred Hochberg, chairman and president of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, visited District 14 on Wednesday, accepting an invitation by U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren (R-IL) to trumpet the difference the bank is making in supporting manufacturers and businesses in the state.

“The Export-Import Bank is about growing jobs in Illinois, keeping jobs in Illinois and continuing to make products in Illinois," Hultgren said. "Our local businesses rely on the bank to begin exporting relationships with companies overseas, ensure their exports reach their customers and lessen overall risk. I’m pleased Ex-Im Bank President  Hochberg joined us today to showcase the great work going on right here in Illinois as a result of our businesses’ new relationships with companies overseas. The bank largely acts like an insurance policy — a protective backstop for our businesses to be used only in the rarest of cases.”

In the past, Hultgren has supported reforms to the bank through H.B. 597, a bill that reauthorizes this key financing tool for manufacturers and suppliers in the state for five years and improves transparency and accountability to taxpayers.

The bank, since 2007, has generated nearly $6 million in export sales from 301 exporters, including 205 small businesses.

Hultgren and Hochberg also took a tour of Mathews Company in Crystal Lake, a company that manufactures agricultural equipment and uses the bank to support millions of dollars in exports.