Ex-Im Bank Approval Bars Funds For Caucasus Railway

Congressmember Joseph Crowley (D-QueensThe Bronx), Chief Deputy Whip and a member of the House Financial Services Committee, announced unanimous House approval of the Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act of 2006, which includes Crowley's amendment barring the Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank of the United States from providing funds for the construction of a controversial railway project that would exclude Armenia and effectively continue an illegal economic blockade against the Caucasus nation.

This same legislation is expected to be passed into law by the Senate and signed into law by President George W. Bush this month. The amendment, authored by Crowley and fellow Congressmembers Ed Royce (R-California) and Brad Sherman (D-California), prohibits the Ex-Im Bank from offering loan guarantees, insurance or an extension of credit in connection with the planning or development of a cross-country railway sponsored by Turkey and Azerbaijan that would connect the cities of Kars, Turkey, Tblisi, Georgia and Baku, Azerbaijan while avoiding Armenia altogether.

“This cross-country railway project deliberately bypasses Armenia in an effort to hurt the Armenian people and can only result in greater regional instability,” Crowley said. “The Ex-Im Bank was set up to promote U.S. trade with other nations, not finance illegal economic blockades. We cannot act to aid a project clearly meant to suffocate Armenia, which has made great strides in democratic and economic reforms in spite of its neighbors' demonstrated hostility.”

In September, Crowley successfully lobbied members of the Senate Banking Committee to adopt essentially the same amendment that would deny loans and financing for the rail project. As a result of his efforts, the Senate version of the Ex-Im Bank reauthorization bill also includes the measure, which was submitted by U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-New Jersey).

Crowley has consistently voiced longstanding opposition to the rail project, which continues in the pattern set by the 2005 completion of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, another project sponsored by the governments of Turkey and Azerbaijan, in addition to Georgia. The BTC pipeline, which transports crude oil through the Caucasus region, also bypasses Armenia, despite that route being the most economically sound and logical path for the pipeline to take. The Ex-Im Bank is the official export credit agency of the United States. The mission of the bank is to assist in financing the export of U.S. goods and services to international markets, as well as related international projects.