S. 4820

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4820 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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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.
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