WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today said the Senate’s vote to approve reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank will help U.S. and North Dakota companies better compete in a global marketplace. The measure passed by large bipartisan majorities in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, and now goes to President Obama for signature.

The Export-Import Bank supports American jobs and is a critical tool for small business to get the financing they need to export their products. The Ex-Im Bank last year helped to produce more than $41 billion in U.S. exports, supporting approximately 290,000 export-related American jobs. More than 85 percent of Ex-Im Bank’s transactions last year directly supported small businesses.

“North Dakota is a leader in export growth, with more than 300 percent growth over the last decade and 33 percent in 2011 alone,” Hoeven said. “This bill strengthens the bank, and at the same time, provides more accountability to taxpayers.”

The Export-Import Bank’s authorization was set to expire on May 31, 2012, and the bank also faced a lending cap of $100 billion. The measure passed by both chambers of Congress reauthorizes the bank for three years and raises its lending cap to $140 billion by 2014.

The measure was supported by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the North Dakota Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufactures and other prominent business groups.