Associated Industries of Missouri is pleased with the results of Tuesday night’s vote in the U.S. House of Representatives that appears to revive the Export-Import Bank. AIM and many of its members are strong proponents of the institution. The following is an article from the National Association of Manufacturers’ blog. The blog post links to several articles written by various news services and as you read, you can see that we still have a long way to go. We need to remain vigilant to keep our Senators and Congressmen on the right track when it comes to support of the Ex-Im Bank. As the day goes on, we will try to find out how our delegation voted on the Ex-Im revival bill, and we will also try to find out where our state’s Senators stand.
From Manufacturing Economy Daily
The AP (10/27, Taylor) reports that House Democrats joined “establishment-backed Republicans” to form a “strong coalition” that on Tuesday “voted overwhelmingly,” 313 to 118, to reinstate the US Export-Import Bank. A campaign by the NAM and other Bank supporters has focused on the lending agency’s record of assisting small US exporters, the story notes, adding that backers also “say the bank helps sustain tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs.”
The Business Journals (10/27, Hoover), through its Washington bureau, also notes that the NAM and other business groups have been pressing Congress to reauthorize the Bank. “They contend U.S. exporters are losing overseas deals to foreign competitors who have access to financing from their countries’ export credit agencies,” the article says.
Reuters (10/27, Lawder) explains that since Congress allowed the Ex-Im Bank’s charter to lapse on June 30, some US companies have lost export contracts and transferred jobs abroad. The story quotes NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons as saying in anews release: “After today’s vote, there is no question where support for [Ex-Im] reauthorization stands. Broad, bipartisan majorities in both chambers have now clearly spoken in support” of renewing the Bank’s charter.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune (10/27, Spencer), in a story noting that seven of the eight members of Minnesota’s US House delegation voted in favor of the Bank’s reauthorization Tuesday, calls the vote a “victory” that serves as “an affirmation of the business community’s power and influence.” The Star Tribune adds that the NAM “lobbied hard” for the Bank’s revival, and it lists several Minnesota-based companies that are association members.
Pointing to the Bank legislation’s prospects in the Senate, USA Today (10/28, Singer) reports that Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said Tuesday that he wouldn’t bring the House measure to the floor. “The Ex-Im supporters — of which I am not one — I gave them an opportunity on the highway bill, and the supporters got 65 votes, so that’s pretty clear there are a significant number of senators who support it,” McConnell said.
The AP (10/27, Taylor) reports that the majority leader went on to say, “The way to achieve Ex-Im, if it’s going to be achieved in the Senate, would be in the context of the highway bill.”
“For now, though,” asserts Politico (10/27, Guida), “the House vote is a major step on the tortured path to reviving the export credit agency.” USA Today (10/28, Singer) says Tuesday’s 313-118 tally was the result of “an unusual alliance” — 127 Republicans joining all but one House Democrat in the majority — in a vote that came a day after Bank backers orchestrated “a bitterly protested maneuver … to force the House to vote” on Ex-Im reinstatement. McClatchy (10/27, Recio) points out that among “the 244 Republicans who voted,” 117 said “no” to reviving the Bank, with only one Democrat, Rep. Alan Grayson of Florida, joining them. In fact, Roll Call (10/27, Dumain) reports, “the No. 2 and 3 Republicans in [the] leadership,” Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA), “are strongly opposed,” as is Speaker John Boehner’s (R-OH) likely successor, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI). USA Today (10/28, Singer) reports that during Tuesday’s debate on the House floor, Ryan “denounce[d] the Ex-Im Bank as ‘crony capitalism’ and urged his colleagues to vote against it.”
Associated Industries of Missouri is the sole official designated partner of the National Association of Manufacturers in Missouri.
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