SenateS. 4820119th Congress
Regional Export Promotion Act of 2026
Full Text
Official text as published. Use Ctrl+F / Cmd+F to search within the document.
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4820 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4820
To amend the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to codify and expand the
Regional Export Promotion Program of the Export-Import Bank of the
United States.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 17, 2026
Ms. Alsobrooks (for herself and Mr. McCormick) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking,
Housing, and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to codify and expand the
Regional Export Promotion Program of 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 ``Regional Export Promotion Act of
2026''.
SEC. 2. CODIFICATION OF REGIONAL EXPORT PROMOTION PROGRAM.
Section 2 of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 (12 U.S.C. 635) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(m) Regional Export Promotion Program.--
``(1) In general.--The Bank shall carry out a Regional
Export Promotion Program (in this subsection referred to as the
`Program') under which the Bank works in partnership with
eligible members from regions of the United States to expand
export opportunities for businesses in those regions.
``(2) Eligible members.--For purposes of the Program,
eligible members are State, county, and local nonprofit
economic development entities, including--
``(A) State, county, and city governments;
``(B) local nonprofit economic development entities
funded through institutions of higher education;
``(C) small business development centers
established pursuant to section 21 of the Small
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648); and
``(D) world trade centers.''.
SEC. 3. PILOT PROGRAM TO EXPAND FOCUS OF REGIONAL EXPORT PROMOTION
PROGRAM ON SMALL BUSINESSES.
(a) In General.--Subsection (m) of section 2 of the Export-Import
Bank Act of 1945, as added by section 2, is further amended by adding
at the end the following:
``(3) Pilot program to expand focus of program on small
businesses.--
``(A) In general.--The Bank shall implement a pilot
program to expand the Program to increase the footprint
of the Bank in regions with high concentrations of
small business concerns.
``(B) Priority for certain entities.--In selecting
new partners for the Program under the pilot program
required by subparagraph (A), the Bank shall prioritize
entering into agreements with--
``(i) State and local economic development
agencies serving HUBZones (as defined in
section 31(b) of the Small Business Act (15
U.S.C. 657a(b)));
``(ii) community development financial
institutions (as defined in section 103 of the
Community Development Banking and Financial
Institutions Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4702));
``(iii) minority depository institutions
(as defined in section 308 of the Financial
Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement
Act of 1989 (Public Law 101-73; 12 U.S.C. 1463
note));
``(iv) local chambers of commerce; and
``(v) local community banks and credit
unions.
``(C) Assistance.--Under the pilot program required
by subparagraph (A), the Bank shall provide--
``(i) specialized training and marketing
collateral;
``(ii) short-term export credit insurance
products specifically designed for small
business accounts; and
``(iii) in the case of entities that have
not used products of the Bank before,
streamlined application processes.
``(D) Duration.--The pilot program required by
subparagraph (A) shall terminate on the date that is 5
years after the pilot program commences.
``(E) Small business concern defined.--In this
subsection, the term `small business concern' has the
meaning given that term in section 3 of the Small
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632).''.
(b) Report to Congress.--Not later than one year after the
commencement of the pilot program required by paragraph (3) of section
2(m) of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945, as added by subsection (a),
and annually thereafter for 5 years, the President of the Export-Import
Bank of the United States shall submit to 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) detailing the number of new regular partners of the
Bank developed under the pilot program, disaggregated by entity
type;
(2) detailing the total volume and dollar amount of Bank
products utilized by small business concerns (as defined in
section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632)) as a
direct result of referrals from those partners;
(3) assessing the elements of the pilot program that were
most successful and the elements that could use improvement;
and
(4) making recommendations with respect to whether new
appropriations or other funding for the pilot program would be
helpful or would have made the pilot program more successful.
<all>