there is a fannie mae plan, as i understand that specifically targeted at black and brown americans. i do not think we should dole housing the first based on skin colors. i am curious, am i right about that? does the fannie plan specifically target black and brown families? secondly, do you have any income requirements? everyone. you talk about the affordability issue which is the biggest issue it has today it didn't miss under the law, we have the responsibility to ensure that there is fair housing access for everyone. when we talk about the affordability issue which is the biggest issue that the country has today. there are particular communities that are underserved and there are huge housing gaps, we have asked fannie mae to come up with

plans for underserved communities. with world communities, tribal communities, native american communities, we want to make sure that no one is left behind. we cannot let the housing market fail. there is no one-size-fits-all. many of the barriers that have been identified in some of the plans, for black and brown borrowers, apply to other cultures as well and it applies across our nation. i will give you an example. >> you can finish watching this on c-span.com. we take you to the house financial sub services committee on the role of the export and import bank. you are watching live on c- span. >> i recognize myself to give an opening statement.

we sit at the 118th congress and my top priority has been addressing the biggest threat to the united states security and also global security. a bid for global economic domination. unlike the united states, they do not subscribe to the rules- based order that is governed financing for nearly a century. we demonstrate daily that we apply our own rules for anything in strategic sectors including security. it blends beyond the economic advancement and there is a clear effort to enhance its global power. it is critical to compete and win in this arena against china. an important role of doing so in the united states. five years since we last had a hearing. leading up to the most recent

conversation in 2019. nine years since the chair of the bank testified in front of us in 2019. i would like to welcome the current chair. thank you, we appreciate your attendance and we look forward to your testimony here. xm was established during the great depression and they support the export of u.s. goods and services. through direct loans, home guarantees, insurance, and innovative risksharing programs, they boost american small businesses creating tens of thousands of american jobs across the country. the ability to manage risk successfully is why it is one of the government run entities that actually makes a profit and has sent $9 billion back to the treasury since 1992. to orient the bank to combat

communist china as part of the authorization, congress recommends to establish china transformational exports program. this program is having some impact. there is much more to do and much more that i think it can do. they have a vital role in the united states ability to provide global economic leadership. we saw the harm when the charter lapsed between 2018 and 2019. the increase in projects funded by foreign agencies and those jobs went to foreign companies and workers. there is enormous opportunity to bolster america's position as a superpower. requiring that they consider deals on banking criteria is and if the industry is disfavored by the current administration. on your watch, they approved

the projects in indonesia. you were criticized for doing so. there must be an enormous political pressure. it is so worrying to this committee that major projects have been delayed and remain unfunded. thousands of american jobs are waiting. nuclear powder is an area where america needs to restore its role as a global leader. in these areas, xm can ensure a level playing field in the economic competition with china. for the bank to play that role, it must be managed competently. we were concerned by a reason inspector general report. the federal employee viewpoint,

they were dead last four best places to work in the federal government. chair lewis, i want to hear from you today about what leadership will do to address these alarming trends. i appreciate your willingness to come before this committee to tell us about successes and how we can work better together to make it a best place to work any better functional agency. i look forward to your testimony. the chair recommends the subcommittee. for an opening statement. >> good morning and thank you for the president of xm for the export bank. with competition with china.

this year, xm celebrates 90 years of carrying out its mission to create economic opportunity for united states companies and workers. we are excited to hear from you. i joined my chairman and saying that we are excited to hear how we can work together. thank you for that, mr. chair. full disclosure, i have had the opportunity to not only know but work with madam chair and the president for some time. for those who don't know, she comes to us as a scholar. from an american university, a lawyer, diplomat with years of international experience in this area. we know by providing financial tools we can export american services across the world. to help companies compete abroad. you can hear claims that xm

hands-on money to large corporations. i want to go on the record saying that in fact, 90% of the authorizations benefit united states small businesses. the purpose is to level the playing field to ensure that american companies can compete for global sales. that is exactly what the bank does in every single one of the congressional districts represented in this hearing today. mr. chairman, i would like to enter into the records, a chart that will be very helpful that identifies the amount of small businesses that benefit from the funds of those of us that are questioning you today. my colleagues on the other side, there are small businesses should be applauding you. they are in the hundreds of millions of dollars for small businesses. we hear that frequently that we are small business owners.

>> objection. >> thank you. the export import bank is committed to cultivating a diverse workforce to identify ways to support women owned and minority owned. making sure that the united states can compete with china. the exports program supports exporters facing competition from china. making sure that we lead in the export areas including ai, renewable energy and semi conductors by fostering american innovation and expansion, enabling the united states company to go toe to toe with foreign rivals resulting in more x what and well-paying

jobs in cities across the country. some of my colleagues have fought the reauthorization of xm despite bipartisan support for the bank. it is proposed by extremist agendas like project 25 two harm small business and hamper our efforts to compete against china. democrats have a long record of working with you. i was proud to be here in 2015. republicans used a discharge petition to do away with export. they have increased the cap for export lending. i yield back because my time is up. >> i want to thank her for the comments and putting into the record the amount of small businesses that are helped.

i always call them the small business bank. even if you help a big business, it takes lakhs of little businesses to get the parts and services. there is a ripple effect that affects lots of small businesses. we have the chairman of the small business committee with us today. it is a big deal to have you with us today. with that, we welcome the testimony of joe lewis. president chair of the board of directors of the xm bank. doing a great job of giving us an overview of the past. with that, we thank you for taking the time to be here. you are recognized for five minutes to give oral testimony. and will be made part of the record. a quick overview and tutorial here on the light system. when it is red, that is a stop sign.

when you hear me like that, if you can wind up your answer to move on. as we indicated earlier, we will try to adjourn at 10:30. with that, you are recognized for five minutes. please turn on your microphone. ms. lewis, there we go. pull the microphone close to you, please, that box does move, please click close to you. >> members of the subcommittee, thank you for inviting me to testify on the export import bank of the united states. intensifying competition with the people's republic of china. we hear from partners and clients on a day-to-day basis about the economic challenges posed by the prc actions. concerned about competition instrumental in the export programs. the mandate which is now a part

of the 2019 reauthorization. we support u.s. manufacturers facing competition and advances the leadership across 10 transformational areas. it is congressionally mandated to support u.s. jobs by facilitating exports. through loan guarantees and insurance programs. where the private sector is unable or unwilling to do so. relapse in the charter, a lack of quorum on the board of the directors had a devastating impact on operations, staffing, and morale. when xm was precluded from authorizing transactions more than $10 million, competitors like the prc stepped in to fill

the void. our team has worked tirelessly to revitalize, restore, and rebuild the reputation as a reliable partner. in 2023 because of the dedication of the workforce, xm supported a .8 billion in authorizations. a 67% increase and supported the estimated 40,000 jobs across the country. of the 8.8 billion of total authorizations, 2.4 billion comported the mandate. since my arrival in 2022, authorizations have jumped from 253 million to 24 4 billion. at this point, the dollar amount is greater than at this point last year.

you might ask, what does countering competition look like in practice? here is just one example. this past november, we passed the direct loan to beta technologies, a small business in vermont that will help u.s. manufacturers create with the prc to for this emerging industry. the transaction falls on the m.i.a. american industries produce goods, services and industries that compete and win in global markets. when the playing field is not level, they are disadvantaged when competing in foreign markets. they hamper and harm the ability to compete on the

global marketplace. we have a need to ensure the level playing field for u.s. exporters. using tools to address this challenge. it is fair to say that we want to do more and we can do more. we are still subject to the 2% default rate cap. it poses a significant challenge to the ability to support u.s. exporters. other lenders are not bound by these constraints. we are seeking a default exemption. this will allow us to compete more aggressively against the prc and embrace higher risk technologies in the markets. i would be remiss if the charter does not extend past 2026. from 2015 through 2019, when the charter lapsed the world saw a 34% increase. mr. chairman and the committee,

we would be remiss in not talking about the fact that in early reauthorization with enhancements to the mandate backed by a bipartisan majority, congress is committed to supporting the agency to advance the agency and supporting jobs. i look forward to working with you and other congressional stakeholders. thank you. >> thank you, ms. lewis. i will now move for questions. >> what about the deal flow and national security? they have a flow of $135 billion. how much is obligated and how much more can they be doing before reaching the $135 billion seal? >> that is around 34 billion that we have authorized us so far. we intend to have a very strong

pipeline of projects throughout the different mandates as well as throughout different sectors that we are operating in. we look forward to continuing to do more. >> i know that it shut down in the late 20 teens. that hurt our ability. and the representation of the xm bank. i think we are in a position now where we can find a way to get that done. as you mentioned here, president trump signed into law the reauthorization as part of the legislation. it was established with a goal of the statutory lending to counter china. your testimony was that it was 2.4 and almost 3 billion right now, what is your strategy for

growing transactions? >> absolutely, mr. chairman, we have a sense of urgency about the work we are doing. our strategy has been as we review the transformational exports, we have seen significant growth in the work that we have been doing in everything from renewable energy, 5g, as well as in the work of water and sanitation. our strategy has been that we are looking to use all of our tools to compete with china. as well as to build and keep manufacturing here in the united states. we have looked at the 10 specific sectors, everything from ai to financial technology and renewable energy, we are continuing to be as aggressive as we can to work as a whole of government in looking for bankable projects.

>> as you go through all of this here, 10 transformational export areas. when you look at changes in the program, should we add more areas? that is one of the questions we want to look at here. what kind of changes do you see to the program that can be impactful? the export areas here, do we need to scrap it or expand it? the default cap rate is a problem. you suggested that we have an exemption. can you expand on that please? >> yes, mr. chairman. no other eca that we are aware of has those types of constraints on them with a default rate. we are seeking a carveout and appreciating opportunities before this body about early

authorization. that will help us in the playing field. we still have numerous statutory parameters that others do not. >> i appreciate that. we need to look at the green lines that you look at your project through will be forgot about. with regards to our ability to impact jobs here at home and across the world. i would be remiss if i did not mention the report on opm. it is very alarming, quite frankly, ms. lewis, best places to work, from 12 to the bottom. this committee has over cited fdic. this report word has documentation of racial discrimination with the guard

employees. that is disturbing when you are that low, can you tell me what is going on? what are your plans to fix the problem? >> one of the things on a repeated basis is that human capital is our greatest resource. one of the areas that i was very intense on after being confirmed and prior to confirmation, was to review where we were as it relates to staff more out in terms of the agency. as i have begun to study that. xm if i look at the scores that were back in 2005, we have always been at the lower 1/5 category . that data was telling me that there was a systemic historical challenge. there are opportunities for us to do more. one of the things that i began

to do was hire human capital. >> i will let someone else ask the question again. my time is up. with that, we go to the lady from ohio. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you, president and chair. just for the record, in my opening statement i said i was proud to be here and i was associating that was when we re- established them under the ranking water leadership after seven years. for my first question, let me continue what the chair is saying. he is correct with what we thought about fdic and what was happening there. i will give you some time to finish her statement now. >> one of the first things we did was bring one of the big four to work with our

leadership team to focus on training and development. we hired in more than five years, we have not hired a permanent chief capital officer and we have done so. we have hired a new chief management officer. we have doubled our efforts around training and development. launched our first mentoring program. we enhance the affinity program and expanded the benefit programs. we are working on the next generation of leaders to make sure that next senior-level officers are prepared for the future. we have connected three off- site retreats. not just with senior managers but with all managers and there is about 60 of them. we have required individual departments to have off-site retreats for their teams. we know that change may be slow to occur. i believe that we are moving in the right direction. >> i was going to ask you. let me just remind people,

you've been there for how long? two years? you said more than five. i am safe in saying that you will acquired from the past. you have a plan to bring in experts from the outside to deal with you. i'm sure you will be asked at a later time about that again. i applaud you for recognizing and not denying that there is an issue. that is the first step. let me also go to the next question, there has been some discussion about increasing the default cap from the 3% to 4%. many colleagues have put together registration that will do that. can you expound and explain how this change can positively impact your work and your capacity to carry out your mission? >> absolutely, we are seeking a

default rate transition and we allow it will allow xm to compete more aggressively with higher risk technologies and markets. when you look at what hampers any other agency, no other agency has that cap. no other credit agency and definitely not the prc that we are aware of. we know that with xm, there is a setting in 2026 through early reauthorization to signal that market that xm is in it for them for the long term. giving the default rate cap to carveout the part that is exceptional and significant. >> one thing i might be able to squeeze in, the authorization

is going to expire. you said that in your opening remarks. reauthorization will be necessary prior to that date as you said. for those who have been here as long as the chair and i, this has always been bipartisan, for most of the time that i have been here, can you take the last minute to share or say that there are potential long- term challenges that congress should consider in reauthorizing your agency. >> thank you, to the committee. we have operated on a bipartisan way. the chairman i used to be the head of the committee sends his regards. he will be with us later today. he is on his way to washington. the continuation for the carveout and early authorization is the areas that would be of significance to support jobs and help companies

level the playing field and compete with china. >> thank you, mr. chair, i give you back seven seconds. >> thank you to the gentle lady from ohio. we will try and get one more in here. with that, we will recognize the gentleman who is the sub committee. recognized for five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman. my wife graduated from the university of georgia. i am a wildcat, it's difficult for me to do. think you for your service. in may, members of the subcommittee sent you a letter expressing concerns with recent consent suggestions that they were aligned in environmental goals as opposed to the china objective. we mentioned the deal flow and unapproved projects.

the natural gas pipeline, what is the hold up here? >> tell your wife, go dogs. right now, no decision has been made yet with the amendment of the approved financing for that project. there is a review of entire transactions approved under the administration. >> without regard to the specifics of the natural gas pipeline, i hope that the holdup is not related to political influence from the climate agenda. when we we authorized xm, we prohibited the bank from discriminating against fossil energy projects. why that is important in respect to the exports program that we also authorized in the

reauthorization. as the independent task force report from the council on foreign relations demonstrates, since the creation of the creation, he has gone to fossil fuel projects around the world. if the united states can offer clean energy projects as an alternative through parts of the world as a tool. the fact of the matter is that in the global south, there is a lot of energy poverty. when we don't offer an alternative for those lesser developed countries in terms of energy sincerity, they will go to china. i am concerned that the energy projects will compromise u.s. national security. can you speak to that?

and can you commit to this committee that the administration climate agenda will not compromise our efforts to combat belton road? >> we are not an island separated from the broader government, there is an important role to play to support all industries and workers in our country. we have to do in accordance with the regulatory and policy requirements that have been laid out for us. congress has been very clear about the nondiscrimination clause in our charter. we take that to heart. to further your comment, the amendment request is being processed in compliance with standard policies. we remain in ordination with the other project lenders and no disbursements have been made to date on this transaction. >> we look forward to hearing

about the progress. i introduced a bill and i am a big supporter and i appreciate your work. i want to supercharge that work. this bill will increase from 22 to 33%, the incentives that would be used to counter china, do you agree that it is essential that the bank makes business decisions, allowing the bank to make larger and more aggressive deals is a key tool in countering china? >> we have more, we can do more. we look forward to working with you and the committee on any legislation that will help us help american workers and exporters. >> i agree with you about raising the default rate cap. my bill would raise that from 2% to 5% to allow them to be more aggressive to counter the

road initiative. i think the goal would be something like 27 billion. >> 3.6. >> you have a lot of room to go to get to 20%. i wanted to be 33% of all activities. to encourage you to get a little higher on those deals that are related. >> yes we are. those deals are coming in and the pipeline is strong. >> thank you. appreciate your service, keep up the good work. >> the gentleman yields back. with that, we will go to mr. nichols. you have an additional five minutes. >> and q for those that are here today. the export and import bank ensures american competitiveness around the globe. to allow americans to export goods and services globally.

while boosting american manufacturing jobs. one area where they can be extremely influential is nuclear energy exports. governments around the world are shifting policies towards nuclear energy. the u.s. must be the leader in this space. russia is the dominant nuclear supplier which is state owned nuclear energy conglomerate has 70% of the market. the chinese nuclear industry said they could build 30 nuclear reactors around the world, broad, worth 145 billion by 2030. they have endless resources funneled into nuclear exports. u.s. companies are competing against foreign governments

without meaningful support from the government. the u.s. cannot fall behind. we want to jumpstart nuclear financing at the export import bank and i have a two-part question for you here. what do you think of my proposal? and would you support these policies? that is what i will get to in a second here. what role did the bank play in financing nuclear energy if it was raised from 2% to 4% and if facilities were included in the exports program? would you support this policy? >> thank you very much for that question. xm has been supporting financing for over five decades and has world-class expertise. to evaluate the technical, legal, and financial of these particular projects. one of the things that we are very supportive of is a

carveout under ctap. we think it will allow us to have more flexibilities for the exporters and the continuation of supporting jobs. and to help compete against the crp. we should be concerned. i will at the state department take that question. when they come before you. one of the areas specifically as it relates to xm we want our manufacturers to compete and not just compete to win, we want those products to be american-made. we do not want manufacturers to lose. that is why we are aggressively in this space. if you see the work we've been

doing over the last couple years, being aggressive around the large nuclear reactors on the work that the companies are producing and manufacturing around small nuclear reactors. >> i want to improve the mission. the export and import bank can approve highly complex transactions. given the demand in the space, do they have the resources of staffing to do the business development, underwriting and legal work needed for these transactions? >> that is why this could be so important for us, in the nuclear space, we are also working very closely with our partners and allies on cofinancing together. we are working closely in the united states government. we believe it is the combination of all the work we have been able to do to see the exporters compete and also win and be able to help with the tools that we have to level the playing field to be able to win

against china and russia. >> we are falling behind. china is a decade ahead of the u.s. with the ability to deploy nuclear reactors at scale. do you agree that the u.s. must work to level the playing field? >> these deals you are speaking of are very large. we need the type of flexibility that only this committee can afford us. we look forward to working with you on your legislation. >> i look forward to working on this in a bipartisan way. thank you. >> the votes have been called. my discussion with our leader, he will give 20 minutes and then he will start closing the board. we will call a recess here. ms. lewis has agreed to stick around for her purposes. we have 21 votes which should take about an hour and a half roughly.

if we come back in the neighborhood around noon, we will be back here as soon as the votes are ordered. with that, the committee is recessed.