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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Councilmember Item - Councilmember O'Connell - Recommen g , h CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH _ w _ City Council Interoffice Communication To: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members From: Billy O'Connell, City Council Member Date: August 10, 2015 Subject: CITY COUNCIL MEMBER ITEM FOR THE AUGUST 17, 2015, CITY COUNCIL MEETING— RECOMMENDATION FOR CITY COUNCIL TO TAKE ACTION IN SUPPORT OF THE RENEWAL OF THE U.S. EXPORT-IMPORT BANK AND AUTHORIZE THE MAYOR AND THE CITY'S FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE REPRESENTATIVE TO ADVOCATE FOR THE BANK'S REAUTHORIZATION. STATEMENT OF ISSUE: The U S Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank) has helped (1) create and maintain local jobs, (2) strengthened our export competitiveness, and (3) achieved this at no direct cost to the American taxpayer The current fate of the Ex-Im Bank, which is America's official export credit agency, is currently in serious doubt As a consequence of congressional in-action, the Ex-Im Bank's charter to initiate new loans has lapsed U S export credit assistance for American businesses now hinges on swift congressional action Time is of the essence As Congress has adjourned for their summer recess, it will only have a few weeks upon its return before the funding that allows the Ex-Im Bank to keep its doors open will expire The voice of Main Street USA needs to be heard, and our community needs to show our support for American business interests both here and abroad Since 1945, the Ex-Im Bank has performed a critical role assisting Main Street USA businesses to create and retain jobs by aiding the export of American products through loan guarantee and insurance programs The Ex-Im Bank goes head-to-head against more than 60 other nation's export credit agencies, thereby, enabling American companies to compete in the international marketplace on a more equal footing Since 2009, the Ex-Im Bank has supported 1 3 million private-sector companies through financing export of American goods and services In 2014, Ex-Im Bank financing supported $27 5 billion worth of U S exports Of that total, $10 7 billion represented exports from U S small businesses, making small business exports the top category supported last year Over the past eight (8) years, the Ex-Im Bank has supported ten (10) Huntington Beach small businesses to export products with a total export value of over$29 million Equally important and at issue is that we can't continue to afford to see more key aerospace and manufacturing employers exit the region, thereby, taking valued, high-paying jobs with them With virtually every other industrialized nation having an export credit agency like the Ex- Im Bank, you can rest assured our industries will follow the money China, which has ambitions of challenging U S -based Boeing's and European Airbus's aerospace dominance, tops the list Surely, China will be happy to help our export-oriented aerospace and manufacturers take their jobs elsewhere To quote Zhao Changhui, an executive from China's Ex-Im Bank, regarding the pending demise of the U S Ex-Im Bank, "With respect to competition in strategy and policies between the U S and China, this is a good thing " Page 2 August 10, 2015 Bank critics complain the Ex-Im Bank is skewing free markets, but the Ex-Im Bank's demise will not by any stretch of the imagination level the international playing field While in an ideal world, free market principles might govern the export marketplace, we know that is not always the case with international trade matters That is why the Ex-Im Bank has a strong tradition of bipartisan support from U S Presidents since 1945 As President Ronald Reagan pledged before Congress in his 1983 State of the Union Address, "We must have adequate export financing to sell American products overseas " RECOMMENDED ACTION: Motion to A Approve a city position of support for congressional reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank B Authorize the Mayor and the city's federal representative to advocate in support Xc Fred Wilson, City Manager Ken Domer, Assistant City Manager Joan Flynn, City Clerk I ®®® ORANGE COUNTY BUSINESS COUNCIL 2 Park Plaza, Suite 100 1 Irvine,CA 92614-5904 1 P 949 476 2242 1F949 476 9240 1wwwocbcorg SUPPLEMENTAL August 17, 2015 COMMUNICATION The Honorable JIII Hardy Meeting Late: 0 " 17 City of Huntington Beach 2000 Main Street Agenda Item No. Huntington Beach, CA 92648 Subject: SUPPORT-Agenda Item #18: U.S. Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Dear Mayor Hardy Orange County Business Council (OCBC) writes to you in support of Council Member O'Connell's recommendation that the City of Huntington Beach take action in support of the reauthorization of the United States Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) As Orange County's leading voice of business, OCBC has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to strengthening Orange County's economy in a variety of sectors, including international trade International trade has been one of Orange County's strongest growth industries, reflected by the fact that by the end of 2015, Orange County exports are estimated to reach an all-time high of$28 billion Helping to drive such robust growth in Orange County's international trade sector is the Ex-Im Bank Over the years, the Ex-Im has helped Orange County companies of all sizes turn export opportunities into real sales that help to maintain and create jobs and strengthen the economy In Orange County alone, the Ex-Im has financed nearly $3 billion in exports since 2007 As noted in Council Member O'Connell's memo, over the past eight years, the Ex-Im Bank has supported ten Huntington Beach small businesses to export products with a total export value of over $29 million Considering the critical role which international trade plays in the Orange County economy, OCBC strongly encourages the Council to support the reauthorization of the U S Export-Import Bank Sincerely, Matt Petteruto Bryan Starr Vice President, Economic Development Senior Vice President, Government Affairs cc Huntington Beach City Council TLIr I rAMUr vnirr nr RI icimi c IN nDAmrx fnt imTv Estanislau, Robin From: Harper, Gloria Sent: Monday, August 17, 2015 10 07 AM To: Estanislau, Robin Subject: FW Agenda Item#18-OCBC Ltr of Support Attachments: OCBC Ltr Support- HB City Council 8-17-15 pdf Gloria D Harper,CMC Senior Deputy City Clerk City of Huntington Beach 2000 Maul Street Huntington Beach,CA 92648 714-536-5209 gloria harper@surfcity-hb org From: Matt Petteruto [madto:MPetteruto( ocbc.org] Sent: Monday, August 17, 2015 9:38 AM To: Harper, Gloria Subject: Agenda Item #18- OCBC Ltr of Support Ms Harper Please see the attached letter from the Orange County Business Council regarding agenda Item #18 on the August 17, 2015 council agenda Matt Petteruto Vice President of Economic Development Orange County Business Council 2 Park Plaza,Suite 100 1 Irvine,CA 92614 Tel 949 794 7209 SECURE THE FUTU7RE I or•angecountybusinesscouncil Don't miss the 2015 Annual Dinner February 19, RSVP here! Join the Leading Voice of Business in Orange County www ocbc org and www.LocationOC.com 1 Estanislau, Robin From: Flynn, Joan Sent: Monday, August 17, 2015 10 25 AM To, Estanislau, Robin Subject: FW Oppose Item 18 on City Council Agenda for August 18, 2015 SUPPLEMENTAL COMMUNICATION From: Can [mailto-cswanie@aol com] Meeting Date. O -/7 Sent: Sunday, August 16, 2015 7.50 AM To: CITY COUNCIL Cc: Flynn, Joan; Fikes, Cathy Agenda Item No. Subject: Oppose Item 18 on City Council Agenda for August 18, 2015 Dear Mayor Hardy and Council Members, I am writing to urge you to OPPOSE ITEM 18 and urge City Council to take NO ACTION in support of the renewal of the US Export-Import Bank, etc Huntington Beach has NO BUSINESS being involved in or taking a position on this highly political, extremely controversial issue, the continuation of the Ex-Im Bank, Our city is facing unprecedented challenges including looming unfunded pension liabilities with no clear path to improving the situation, we suffer massive infrastructure neglect and an unending regulatory environment by the state and unelected boards and commissions Having sat through nearly all the city council meetings for several month, clearly there is no shortage of LOCAL issues that need to be addressed and debated Huntington Beach should NOT be a lobbying tool for Corporate Welfare and Cronyism, To begin, the"Supporting Statement" in Councilman O'Connells recommended action is patently FALSE While the cronyism inherent to EX-IM Banks function may have created some jobs it has done so at the expense of tens of thousands of other American jobs, including the airline industry My husband was a pilot The Air Line Pilot Association has battled against the Ex Im Bank for years due the thousands of jobs lost to foreign carriers as a result of Ex Im cronyism providing subsidies to foreign airlines, thereby knocking American carriers out of routes that they previously served This has affected hundreds of airline industry jobs in Southern California and over 18,000 jobs nationwide Bottom line when the government picks winner and losers it NEVER ends well Secondly, the statement that Ex Im has"achieved this at no direct cost to the American taxpayer" is also FALSE I direct you to this report(below)which documents the"sketchy" government accounting used by Ex-Im, which is not even legal in private banking they never assess risk, And this"unaccounted for" RISK has cost the taxpayers BILLIONS in the past several years according to the by-partisan Congressional Budget Office In fact, writer and political analyst Stephen Moore perhaps said it best "How much do taxpayers have to pay off Boeing [largest beneficiary of Ex Im $] to make the Export-Import Bank-finally and irrevocably—go away'? If the feds wrote a check to Boeing for$100 million, would they then let the Ex-Im Bank die a merciful and long overdue death'?" Stephen Moore also makes the follow statement with regard to the massive campaign by the Chamber of Commerce to protect Ex- Im "The chamber should get back to being about promoting commerce, not cronyism " http Hamericansforprosperity org/article/cbo-reveals-export-import-bank-is-a-2-billion-loss-for-taxpayers From this report A new report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office(CBO) reveals that the Export-Import Bank's six largest programs will be an enormous loss for taxpayers over the next decade The Bank, which hands out taxpayer-backed financing to foreign corporations that do business with some of America's largest companies claims that it makes a profit for the government But as the CBO report explains, this claim is based on disingenuous accounting In reality, the Bank's programs will be a multi-billion dollar loss As the result of an insidious number-crunching method, the"Ex-Im" Bank claims it will achieve$14 billion in savings In reality, however, the programs will cost$2 billion—a$16 billion difference that takes the Bank from the black to the red Considering a loss of this magnitude, it's no wonder the Bank's supporters oppose privatization 1 i The Ex-Im Bank and other federal credit agencies use an incomplete accounting formula from the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (FCRA) The CBO has detailed the deficiencies of this method, explaining that it"does not provide a full accounting of what federal credit actually costs the government" because it does not account for the full cost of the risk associated with the loans Government agencies are the only creditors who use this method By contrast, private credit agencies (that do not have the option of being bailed out by taxpayers) use fair-value accounting —the more detailed method that CBO used to pin Ex-Im as a$2 billion cost over the next decade Fair-value accounting recognizes market risk, thus providing a far more accurate picture of the loans' cost to the government The government's own economists are not the only ones to call into question Ex-Im's profitability claim Economists at the Manhattan Institute use a Massachusetts Institute of Technology study to conclude that the Bank would pose a cost of$200 million dollars to taxpayers as a result of its 2012 loans This conclusion falls in line with the CBO report, since$200 million a year multiplied by ten years equals a$2 billion cost The Manhattan Institute also used fair-value accounting in their assessment The Export-Import Bank's deceit is nothing new It should also come as no surprise for an agency that had the nerve to ask for even more funding this year despite the fact that its second biggest beneficiary is"unknown" by its own accounts The fact that the Bank loses(and loses track of)taxpayer dollars should give Congress great pause as they consider its reauthorization this year The legislature would be wise to put an end to this crony boondoggle once and for all http//www washingtontimes com/news/2015/may/24/stephen-moore-chamber-of-commerce-should-not-promo/ Again, I urge you to oppose Item 18 Sincerely, Cari Swan Cell (714)287-6779 2 Estanislau, Robin From: Flynn, Joan Sent- Monday, August 17, 2015 10 25 AM To: Estanislau, Robin Subject: FW CC Item re Import Export Bank From: WMSB@aol.com [madto:WMSB@aol.com] Sent: Sunday, August 16, 2015 1:38 PM To: CITY COUNCIL; Flynn, Joan Subject: CC Item re, Import Export Bank Mayor Jill Hardy and HB Council members Councilman O'Connell has an H item relating to a National Political issue I strongly suggest that Council not vote to become involved in a National issue that has minimal impact on local issues HB CC is over burdened with unsolved local issues and has no business taking a group position on the IM Ex Bank issue The largest benefactor is Boeing who has a large Political Lobbyist group of their own HB CC has no business carrying their water Sincerely Barry L Williams Cell#714-745-1499 In God We Trust SUPPLEMENTAL COMMUNICATION Meeting Crate: 61 Agenda Item No. i i Estanislau, Robin From: Surf City Pipeline [noreply@user govoutreach com] Sent: Monday, August 17, 2015 9 58 AM To. CITY COUNCIL, Agenda Alerts Subject: Surf City Pipeline Comment on an Agenda Item (notification) Request#23401 from the Government Outreach System has been assigned to Agenda Alerts. Request type: Comment Request area: City Council - Agenda& Public Hearing Comments Citizen name: pat quintana Description: I am opposed to the City of Huntington Beach taking a position on federal or state legislation unless it has a direct impact on the City of Huntington Beach and its operations Please do not vote in favor of Mr O'Connell's suggested endorsement Expected Close Date: August 18, 2015 Click here to access the request Note- This message is for notification purposes only Please do not reply to this email Email replies are not monitored and will be ignored SUPPLEIVENTAL wte: ff- /7 ®ornbo, Johanna C11112121 EIIIAEN-rA r From: Tina Ruiz<chnstinaruiz4@yahoo com> COMMUNICATION Sent: Sunday, August 16, 2015 2 50 PM To: CITY COUNCIL Subject: Oppose Agenda Item 18111 Meeting Cate: Agenda Item No. l Dear Mayor Hardy and Council Members, I am writing to urge you to OPPOSE ITEM 18 and urge City Council to take NO ACTION in support of the renewal of the US Export-Import Bank, etc Huntington Beach has NO BUSINESS being involved in or taking a position on this highly political, extremely controversial issue, the continuation of the Ex-Im Bank! Our city is facing unprecedented challenges including looming unfunded pension liabilities with no clear path to improving the situation, we suffer massive infrastructure neglect and an unending regulatory environment by the state and unelected boards and commissions Having sat through nearly all the city council meetings for several month, clearly there is no shortage of LOCAL issues that need to be addressed and debated Huntington Beach should NOT be a lobbying tool for Corporate Welfare and Cronyismf To begin, the "Supporting Statement" in Councilman O'Connells recommended action is patently FALSE: While the cronyism inherent to EX-IM Banks function may have created some jobs it has done so at the expense of tens of thousands of other American jobs, including the airline industry My husband was a pilot The Air Line Pilot Association has battled against the Ex Im Bank for years due the thousands of jobs lost to foreign carriers as a result of Ex Im cronyism providing subsidies to foreign airlines, thereby knocking American carriers out of routes that they previously served This has affected hundreds of airline industry jobs in Southern California and over 18,000 jobs nationwide Bottom line . when the government picks winner and losers.. .it NEVER ends well. Secondly,the statement that Ex Im has "achieved this at no direct cost to the American taxpayer" is also FALSE I direct you to this report(below) which documents the "sketchy" government accounting used by Ex- Im, which is not even legal in private banking . .they never assess risk And this "unaccounted for" RISK has cost the taxpayers BILLIONS in the past several years according to the by-partisan Congressional Budget Office In fact, writer and political analyst Stephen Moore perhaps said it best "How much do taxpayers have to pay off Boeing [largest beneficiary of Ex Im $] to make the Export-Import Bank- finally and irrevocably—go away? If the feds wrote a check to Boeing for$100 mullion, would they then let the Ex-Im Bank die a merciful and long overdue death9" Stephen Moore also makes the follow statement with regard to the massive campaign by the Chamber of Commerce to protect Ex-Im. "The chamber should get back to being about promoting commerce, not cronyism." http•//americansfor]2rosperity orWarticle/cbo-reveals-export-import-bank-is-a-2-billion-loss-for-taxpayers From this report A new report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO)reveals that the Export-Import Bank's six largest programs will be an enormous loss for taxpayers over the next decade The Bank, which hands out taxpayer-backed financing to foreign corporations that do business with some of America's largest companies claims that it makes a profit for the government But as the CBO report explains, this claim is based on disingenuous accounting. In reality,the Bank's programs will be a multi- billion dollar loss. As the result of an insidious number-crunching method, the"Ex-Im" Bank claims it will achieve $14 billion in savings In reality, however, the programs will cost $2 billion—a$16 billion difference that takes the Bank from the black to the red. Considering a loss of this magnitude, it's no wonder the Bank's supporters oppose privatization. i i The Ex-Im Bank and other federal credit agencies use an incomplete accounting formula from the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (FCRA) The CBO has detailed the deficiencies of this method, explaining that it"does not provide a full accounting of what federal credit actually costs the government"because it does not account for the full cost of the risk associated with the loans Government agencies are the only creditors who use this method By contrast, private credit agencies (that do not have the option of being bailed out by taxpayers)use fair-value accounting—the more detailed method that CBO used to pin Ex-Im as a$2 billion cost over the next decade. Fair-value accounting recognizes market risk, thus providing a far more accurate picture of the loans' cost to the government The government's own economists are not the only ones to call into question Ex-Im's profitability claim Economists at the Manhattan Institute use a Massachusetts Institute of Technology study to conclude that the Bank would pose a cost of$200 million dollars to taxpayers as a result of its 2012 loans. This conclusion falls in line with the CBO report, since $200 million a year multiplied by ten years equals a$2 billion cost. The Manhattan Institute also used fair-value accounting in their assessment The Export-Import Bank's deceit is nothing new It should also come as no surprise for an agency,that had the nerve to ask for even more funding this year despite the fact that its second biggest beneficiary is "unknown"by its own accounts The fact that the Bank loses (and loses track of)taxpayer dollars should give Congress great pause,as they consider its reauthorization this year The legislature would be wise to put an end to this crony boondoggle once and for all http-//www washingtontimes com/news/2015/ma /�tephen-moore-chamber-of-commerce-should-not-promo/ Again, I urge you to oppose Item 18. Sincerely, Christina Ruiz HB Resident z I I I Dombo, Johanna From: Rob Pool <rob pool oc@gmail com> Sent: Monday, August 17, 2015 12 36 PM To: CITY COUNCIL �3 L ENTAL Cc: cfikes@surfcity-hb org', Flynn, Joan Subject: Agenda Item 18 COMMUNICATION Meeting Date:_ K—/7 `Cq C 15 Agenda Item No. Dear Mayor Hardy and Councilmembers, t I am writing today to address Item 18 of the August 17, 2015 City Council Agenda I stand in opposition to this agenda item The city has a substantial unfunded liability issue The city is dealing with labor negotiations with the public employee unions There is a need to pass a transparency ordinance These are city issues that need immediate attention Agenda Item 18, regarding the city of Huntington Beach taking an official opinion on a national matter,with no direct effect on the majority of its citizens, is ill advised at best I maintain this sets a dangerous precedent I do not want my city weighing in on national matters unless it can be proven that the matter at hand has a direct effect on the day to day operations of our city The city council should not become a lobbyist group similar to the Chamber of Commerce Let's vote this agenda item down and get back to the city's issues Thank you for your consideration and your continued service to our city Rob Pool 1 Dornbo, Johanna From: Sylvia Calhoun <skc347@yahoo com> Sent: Sunday, August 16, 2015 8 09 PM To- CITY COUNCIL Subject: CityCouncil Meeting 17 August 2015 Dear Sirs, I strongly oppose Agenda Item SUPPLEMENTAL 16 and 18 COMMUNICATION Sylvia Calhoun HB resident Meeting Date: 7 Agenda Item No, 1 Estanislau, Robin From: Dombo, Johanna Sent Monday, August 17, 2015 1 39 PM To: Estanislau, Robin Subject: FW Emails to City Council -OPPOSE Agenda Items 16 & 18-City Council Meeting 8/17/15 From:Sheila Garland [mailto sheilahgarland@hotmail com] Sent:Sunday,August 16, 2015 4 40 PM To:CITY COUNCIL Subject: FW Emails to City Council-OPPOSE Agenda Items 16& 18-City Council Meeting 8/17/15 Dear Mayor Hardy and City Council Members, It is very hot so i am taking a short cut and agreeing with my neighbors Carol Woodworth and Can Swan. They both wrote eloquent and well researched emails urging you to not support these two measures tomorrow I hope you will agree and not support these agenda items tomorrow Thank you for all that you do for our city SUPPLEMENTAL COMMUNICATION, Sheila Garland �r (714) 727-9102 Meeting Date: U ' 7 Resident since 1971 �/r Agenda Item No. Dear Mayor Hardy, Mayor Pro-Tem Katapodis and City Council members, I am writing you today about Agenda item#16—Selecting a Developer for Redevelopment of Rodger's Senior Center and negotiate an exclusive negotiation agreement with the developer for residential development When I read agenda item#16 I immediately had many questions 1 Did we sell the property already? 2 I thought we needed to vote on new zoning to change the land use from open space/parkland to residential If so,how can we be looking for a developer already9 Why now9 3 Don't we put the city at legal risk by entering into an agreement with any developer before the public has voted to change the zonmg9 4 What if the public votes against changing the area to residential and the ballot measure fails? I was disappointed to learn the answers to some of my questions by reading the RFQ/P bid proposal From the city's RFQ/P"the selected Developer will be required to lead and manage the process for an anticipated November 2016 general election So,the city wants the developer to pay the costs associated with not only putting a ballot measure on the Nov 2016 ballot but"Ensuring community involvement and a well educated electorate to achieve a successful "Measure C"approval Well,that doesn't seem to fit the spirit of why Measure C was passed Per Section 612(a) of the City's Charter,parkland may not be sold, leased, exchanged or otherwise transferred or disposed of unless authorized by a majority vote of the City Council and by a majority of the electors voting on such proposition at a general or special election 1 The spirit of Measure C was to ensure that voters had the opportunity to voice their opinions about how and if open space would be used in a different manner It was not passed so that the city could make deals with developers who effectively then become lobbyists who ramrod through a specific land use change It is unacceptable for the city to use the power and money of an outside developer to"persuade"the public to see their vision I urge you to take no action on agenda item#16 We should not be selecting a developer at this time The city should follow our city's charter and put the land use change on the November ballot without using outside developer's money mfluencmg the outcome of the election Sincerely, Carol Woodworth Dear Mayor Hardy and Council Members, I am writing to oppose Agenda Item 16, recommending that we select a developer for the Rodger's Senior Center property In the most simple terms, it appears that the "tail is wagging the dog", There is no possible way to run a "fair and ethical" Measure C campaign, funded by a pre-selected developer who is purely motivated to "win the referendum" The city staff(government) is essentially anticipating (or rigging) the results of the ballot measure by"assuming"that the developer will be capable of investing a very LARGE amount of money which will result in successful passage of the measure, thereby giving the developer and city the "green light"to develop, This is"government sponsored cronyism" at it's very WORST???? You have basically created a"loophole"for the city and developer to by-pass the true will of the community And let's lust say the developer fails to pass the referendum Have we now exposed ourselves to legal challenge?? I can only conclude that, as a city, we have become so desperate for sources of revenue due to our UNFUNDED PENSION LIABILITIES that our city leaders are willing to"risk all" to fill any short term deficiency Please, I urge you, stop this train wreck now This is not a proper solution to our long term financial solvency This action is morally, ethically and perhaps legally wrong I urge you to oppose Item 16 Sincerely, Carl Swan Cell (714)287-6779 OPPOSE A enc9a_Item=l8 recommends the city take action to support of the renewal of the Export Import Bank wv Dear Mayor Hardy and Council Members, I am writing to urge you to OPPOSE ITEM 18 and urge City Council to take NO ACTION in support of the renewal of the US Export-Import Bank, etc Huntington Beach has NO BUSINESS being involved in or taking a position on this highly political, extremely controversial issue, the continuation of the Ex-Im Bank, Our city is facing unprecedented challenges including looming unfunded pension liabilities with no clear path to improving the situation, we suffer massive infrastructure neglect and an unending regulatory environment by the state and unelected boards and commissions Having sat through nearly all the city council meetings for several month, clearly there is no shortage of LOCAL issues that need to be addressed and debated Huntington Beach should NOT be a lobbying tool for Corporate Welfare and Cronyism, To begin, the"Supporting Statement" in Councilman O'Connells recommended actiorr is patently FALSE While the cronyism inherent to EX-IM Banks function may have created some lobs it has done so at the expense of tens of thousands of other American lobs, including the airline industry My husband was a pilot The Air Line Pilot Association has battled against the Ex Im Bank for years due the thousands of lobs lost to foreign carriers as a result of Ex Im cronyism providing subsidies to foreign airlines, thereby knocking American carriers out of routes that they previously, served This has affected hundreds of airline industry lobs in Southern California and over 18,000 lobs nationwide Bottom line when the government picks winner and losers it NEVER ends well 2 I Secondly, the statement that Ex Im has"achieved this at no direct cost to the American taxpayer" is also FALSE I direct you to this report(below)which documents the"sketchy" government accounting used by Ex-Im, which is not even legal in private banking they never assess nski And this"unaccounted for' RISK has cost the taxpayers BILLIONS in the past several years according to the by-partisan Congressional Budget Office In fact, writer and political analyst Stephen Moore perhaps said it best "How much do taxpayers have to pay off Boeing [largest beneficiary of Ex Im $] to make the Export-Import Bank-finally and irrevocably—go away? If the feds wrote a check to Boeing for$100 million, would they then let the Ex-Im Bank die a merciful and long overdue death?" Stephen Moore also makes the follow statement with regard to the massive campaign by the Chamber of Commerce to protect Ex- Im "The chamber should get back to being about promoting commerce, not cronyism " http Hamericansforprosperity org/article/cbo-reveals-export-import-bank-is-a-2-billion-loss-for-taxpayers From this report A new report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reveals that the Export-Import Bank's six largest programs will be an enormous loss for taxpayers over the next decade The Bank, which hands out taxpayer-backed financing to foreign corporations that do business with some of America's largest companies claims that it makes a profit for the government But as the CBO report explains, this claim is based on disingenuous accounting In reality, the Bank's programs will be a multi- billion dollar loss As the result of an insidious number-crunching method, the"Ex-Im" Bank claims it will achieve $14 billion in savings In reality, however, the programs will cost$2 billion—a $16 billion difference that takes the Bank from the black to the red Considering a loss of this magnitude, it's no wonder the Bank's supporters oppose privatization The Ex-Im Bank and other federal credit agencies use an incomplete accounting formula from the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (FCRA) The CBO has detailed the deficiencies of this method, explaining that it"does not provide a full accounting of what federal credit actually costs the government" because it does not account for the full cost of the risk associated with the loans Government agencies are the only creditors who use this method By contrast, private credit agencies (that do not have the option of being bailed out by taxpayers) use fair- value accounting—the more detailed method that CBO used to pin Ex-Im as a $2 billion cost over the next decade Fair-value accounting recognizes market risk, thus providing a far more accurate picture of the loans' cost to the government The government's own economists are not the only ones to call into question Ex-Im's profitability claim Economists at the Manhattan Institute use a Massachusetts Institute of Technology study to conclude that the Bank would pose a cost of$200 million dollars to taxpayers as a result of its 2012 loans This conclusion falls in line with the CBO report, since $200 million a year multiplied by ten years equals a $2 billion cost The Manhattan Institute also used fair-value accounting in their assessment The Export-Import Bank's deceit is nothing new It should also come as no surprise for an agency that had the nerve to ask for even more funding this year despite the fact that its second biggest beneficiary is "unknown" by its own accounts The fact that the Bank loses (and loses track of)taxpayer dollars should give Congress great pause as they consider its reauthorization this year The legislature would be wise to put an end to this crony boondoggle once and for all http//www washingtontimes com/news/2015/may/24/stephen-moore-chamber-of-commerce-should-not-promo/ Again, 1 urge you to oppose Item 18 Sincerely, Carl Swan 6 3 Estanislau, Robin From: Surf City Pipeline [noreply@user govoutreach com] Sent: Monday, August 17, 2015 1 31 PM To, CITY COUNCIL, Agenda Alerts Subject: Surf City Pipeline Comment on an Agenda Item (notification) Request#23403 from the Government Outreach System has been assigned to Agenda Alerts. Request type: Comment Request area: City Council - Agenda& Public Hearing Comments Citizen name: Ron hIGBY Description: I am opposed to our local city government getting involved with a national issue - the import-export bank This is apparently important to the Chamber of Commerce They have their own lobbying resources The HB City Council has more important issues to deal with, e g the impact of the drought and economic development Please stay focused and vote no on this item. Expected Close Date: August 18, 2015 Click here to access the request Note This message is for notification purposes only Please do not reply to this email Email replies are not monitored and will be ignored SUPPLEMENTAL commuNiCATION Meeting Date: 7 ;:Z Agenda Item No-_, y i Estanislau, Robin From: Dombo, Johanna Sent. Monday, August 17, 2015 2 31 PM To: Estanislau, Robin Cc- Agenda Alerts Subject: FW Agenda item 14, 16 and 18 From: Ron Sterud [mailto ronsterud yahoo com] Sent: Monday,August 17, 2015 2 20 PM To: CITY COUNCIL Cc: Fikes, Cathy, Flynn,Joan Subject:Agenda item 14, 16 and 18 Dear Mayor Hardy and Council Members, I am writing to urge that you oppose both Agenda Items 14, 16 and 18 Agenda Item 16-Selection of Developer for Rodger's Senior Center: How on earth can the city issue and RFP and pre-select a developer for an area that has yet to receive a "vote of people' which is required in Measure C? This process is completely backwards and does not honor the original intent of Measure C The proper action should be for the city to place Measure C on the ballot, and only AFTER a vote by the people, should the city take any action regarding development of this property Agenda Item 18-City Council Support for Export Import Bank: This is, quite simply, preposterous[ The role of City Council is to focus on issues specific to Huntington Beach To become involved with a high politicized national issue is a very dangerous precedent to set for city council In addition, the supporting document for this resolution is false and misleading For those very familiar with the Ex Im Bank, as I am due to the very nature of my business, this institution is nothing more than Corporate Welfare that has cost taxpayers billions of dollars In addition, it has been very damaging to many industries across the country, while only benefiting a few hand selected, very large corporations But, to my earlier point, whether one agrees or disagrees with the continuation of the Ex Im Bank, it simply isn't something that I expect my city council to become involved Agenda Item 14-HBBID: As a BID member, I would like to state that the BID offers ZERO benefit to our city or downtown businesses Many business owners, myself included would like nothing more than to see the BID disband I urge you to vote no on agenda Item 14 Sincerely, SUPPLEMENTAL Ron Sterud COMMUNICATION, Meeting late: Agenda Item No. � i A1' 40 P Alberto Sandoval The Boeing Company 2201 Seal Beach Blvd M/C 110-SC01 Seal Beach, CA 90740 SUPPLEMENTAL COMMUNICATION August 17, 2015 Meeting Cate: O °- 1-7" q Huntington Beach City Council l� City of Huntington Beach Agenda Item No. 2000 Main Street Huntington Beach, California 92648 Re: Reauthorization of the U.S. Export-Import Bank(Ex-Im) Dear Mayor& Council Members. For more than 80 years, the Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank of the United States has provided an essential service to American businesses seeking to export their products Council Member O'Connell's item on today's Council Agenda recognizes small businesses alike. Accordingly, we support this agenda item and recommend that the Huntington Beach City Council pass this measure. The Ex-Im Bank provides credit guarantees and other financial services that help foreign customers of U S. companies secure financing to buy American products In 2014, the Ex-Im Bank supported approximately $27.5B in U S exports, $5B originating from the State of California In fact, nearly 400 California companies have used the Ex-Im Bank in recent years Since 2007, the Ex-Im Bank has supported ten companies in Huntington Beach with exports valued at nearly$30M Over 80% of California's Ex-Im users are small businesses that depend upon Ex-Im to break into new markets so they can grow and produce jobs here at home Nationwide, Ex-Im transactions supported over 165,000 total jobs last year. And while the Ex-Im Bank supports hundreds of California exporters, it does so without any cost to California or Huntington Beach taxpayers The Ex-Im Bank is self- sustaining, covering the cost of its operations out of fees and interests paid by those who use its services. Many years it even runs a surplus, returning over$1 B to the U S Treasury in FY2013 and nearly $700M in FY2014. Council Member O'Connell's agenda item recognizes that every one of our major global competitors has an export credit agency comparable to Ex-Im, often providing far more credit than our own Ex-Im provides. Our top 9 trading partners offer 18 times as much credit as Ex-Im. With an economy half our size, Japan offers four times as much Failing to renew the Ex-Im Bank would amount to unilateral economic disarmament that would force American businesses to compete on an unfair and unlevel playing field. California consistently ranks among the top state exporters in the country. The Ex- Im Bank contributes significantly to the state's economy through its assistance to Page 2 California exporters Council Member O'Connell's agenda item, which calls on Congress to reauthorize the U.S. Export Bank, supports Huntington Beach's economy, which benefits significantly from the export of goods Accordingly, we urge your support Sincerely, a - Alberto Sandoval Manager, Government Relations cc- Mayor Jill Hardy Mayor Pro Tempore Jim Katapodis Council Member Dave Sullivan Council Member Barbara Delgleize Council Member Billy O'Connell Council Member Erik Peterson Council Member Mike Posey