Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley—a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations—condemned the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) for its recent decision to approve a $4.7 billion loan for a liquified fossil gas (also known as LNG) project in Mozambique without properly notifying Congress.
“By moving forward without Congressional or public notification you have deprived both of the opportunity to offer input and oversight into EXIM’s involvement in a massive project. This is a project that will have grave human rights and climate impacts for decades and would be the second largest in EXIM’s history,” Merkley wrote.
“As a member of the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Subcommittee, which conducts oversight of EXIM, my colleagues and I rely on notifications from EXIM to carryout oversight of the agency on behalf of our constituents,” he continued. “Congressional notice and public notice in the Federal Register is a statutory requirement. Notice allows members of Congress to offer insight and guidance into the process before the Board makes a decision.”
“Given the scale of this project and its impact on American jobs, the environment and human rights I believe that it would have been appropriate for EXIM to follow the intent of the statute and provide Congress with notice before finalizing it,” he concluded.
Merkley has continuously raised concerns over EXIM approving oil and gas projects abroad and failing to consider climate impacts when making its decisions. This includes denouncing EXIM expanding oil and gas drilling in Bahrain and sounding the alarm on the agency reauthorizing a loan for the Mozambique LNG project.
Full text of the letter can be found by clicking here and follows below:
Dear Mr. Cruse, Mr. Burrows and Director Bachus,
I write to express my frustration that the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) failed to notify Congress before updating and approving its commitment to the Mozambique LNG project at its meeting on March 13th, 2025. By moving forward without Congressional or public notification you have deprived both of the opportunity to offer input and oversight into EXIM’s involvement in a massive project. This is a project that will have grave human rights and climate impacts for decades and would be the second largest in EXIM’s history.
Mozambique LNG is a materially different project than the one EXIM approved financing for in 2019. The primary operator, American company Anadarko, sold its stake to French company TotalEnergies. TotalEnergies then declared Force majeure and abandoned Mozambique LNG for four years because of violent insurgency in the region. In that time the international LNG landscape shifted: U.S. LNG exports have more than doubled and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Department of Energy have approved enough additional LNG terminals to double todays exports. Today Mozambique LNG is riskier, led by a foreign company and competing directly with LNG export terminals proposed in the U.S.
EXIM voted to move forward with Mozambique LNG with just one congressionally confirmed Board Member. That means the Board lacks the members necessary to establish a quorum or hold votes in compliance with its bylaws or its organic statute.
As a member of the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Subcommittee, which conducts oversight of EXIM, my colleagues and I rely on notifications from EXIM to carryout oversight of the agency on behalf of our constituents. Congressional notice and public notice in the Federal Register is a statutory requirement. Notice allows members of Congress to offer insight and guidance into the process before the Board makes a decision.
EXIM is required to direct notice of large transactions to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs and the House Committee on Financial Services, and the leadership of these Committees has changed significantly since EXIM provided notice of the proposed transaction in 2019. Congressional intent is not void when projects are paused. In moving forward EXIM neglected to undertake rigorous reanalysis of the updated project before voting to reaffirm its commitment. The result is that Congress and the public were deprived of the opportunity to provide input into this project.
I regularly utilize the notifications from EXIM. In response to EXIM’s past notices I have requested briefings and submitted comments on projects. If EXIM had provided notice about considering a loan for this project, I would have requested a briefing on this project prior to its approval and offered written comment.
I have deep concerns and longstanding opposition to the substance and process of EXIM’s Mozambique LNG project. On September 25th, 2019, I led a letter with several other members of the Senate expressing concerns with EXIM’s financing of the project. In the proceeding years, I have discussed Mozambique LNG with then- EXIM President Reta Jo Lewis in private, and publicly in a 2024 Appropriations hearing.
Given the scale of this project and its impact on American jobs, the environment and human rights I believe that it would have been appropriate for EXIM to follow the intent of the statute and provide Congress with notice before finalizing it.
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