The Export-Import Bank of the United States has bolstered its communications ahead of a Congressional showdown over reauthorization of the institution, which lends money to foreign companies to buy U.S. goods.
Catrell Brown, who handled communications for the Executive Leadership, has moved to the Bank in DC as VP for public affairs. The Bank has also added Matt Bevens from the Dept. of the Treasury as a senior communications advisor.
The Bank is a target of Congressional Republicans as the key instrument of loans to foreign corporations faces reauthorization on the Hill. Rep. Jen Hensarling (R-Tex.), who chairs the committee that oversees the bank, is lobbying colleagues against reauthorization. Conservatives say the Bank subsidizes exports and uses taxpayer funds for loans that can't be secured in the private sector, according to the Wall Street Journal. Other Republicans support reauthorization with reforms.
The Bank says it backed $27B in authorizations to support $47.4B in US export sales for 2013. That includes $1B for the US Treasury from interest and fees.
Bank chairman Fred Hochberg said the PR hires "will help the Bank better communicate its mission, which in turn will help the Bank reach more exporters and create more U.S. jobs."
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