Export-Import Bank Moves Forward in US House

WASHINGTON-The House of Representatives voted Monday night to begin debate on stalled legislation to revive the U.S. Export-Import Bank, an export-finance agency that has been closed after its charter expired in July.

The House voted 246-177 in favor of the so-called “discharge petition”, last used successfully in 2002. These reforms will put the needs of the taxpayers before those of foreign borrowers. Supporters argue that the bank creates American jobs and plays a crucial role in countering foreign investment.

“We’ve heard from businesses in Maine and across the country that simply can’t send their products to other countries without a guarantee from EXIM”, Pingree said.

“I ask my colleagues to join me in returning power to the rank and file members by voting on the motion to discharge, and supporting American jobs”, Fincher said.

Fincher took the floor at 6:30 p.m. However, members of the House Freedom Caucus indicated late Monday afternoon that they were investigating ways to block the vote, including whether the petition had been on the calendar for sufficient time.

Rep. Stephen Fincher (R-Tenn) brought the bank’s existence back up for debate by employing an unusual maneuver called a discharge petition, a way of bringing a bill to a House floor vote without the consideration of the appropriate committee, and often without the cooperation of leadership.

The bank has divided Republican lawmakers, with a few – including House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling of Texas – calling it corporate welfare for big companies that don’t need government assistance.

In fiscal 2014, the Ex-Im Bank provided financing for exports valued at $27.5 billion that supported about 164,000 United States jobs, according to the Business Roundtable.

Without renewal, more than 500 US companies will lose credit insurance from September through December, according to NAM.

Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman Jim Inhofe said Monday that Republicans in his chamber are weighing a new effort that would reauthorize and overhaul the Ex-Im bank. “In reforming the Ex-Im Bank, we’ll make its practices more accountable and transparent than ever before”.

Boeing spokesman Tim Neale told USA TODAY on Monday that the airplane manufacturer’s recently announced plans to cut several hundred jobs in its satellite division was partially related to the Export-Import Bank’s hiatus.

“It was not the only factor but it was a key factor in that decision”, Neale said. The company is the largest U.S.-based beneficiary of the Export-Import Bank’s efforts.

“The Export-Import Bank is a slush fund for corporate welfare that is riddled with corruption”.

“General Electric and the other major beneficiaries of the bank (and their suppliers) are well-positioned to prosper without Ex-Im subsidies”, Heritage Foundation senior research fellow Diane Katz said in a July 13 blog post.