The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is ramping up pressure on the Senate to quickly vote on the four Export-Import Bank nominees.
Jay Timmons, the head of NAM, sent a letter on Thursday to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and the rest of the Senate urging lawmakers to schedule votes for nominees to the Export-Import Bank’s board of directors, which will become vacant on Friday.
“The lack of a functioning Ex-Im Bank is not only one of those serious economic problems, but also one that can be easily solved given the strong bipartisan support for confirmation of the four Ex-Im Bank nominees,” Timmons wrote in a letter obtained by The Hill.
“Manufacturers want to see holds on these nominees lifted and swift action to move these nominations to the floor for consideration as soon as possible,” he wrote.
The four nominees — Kimberly Reed, Spencer Bachus, Judith Pryor and Claudia Slacik — were approved by the Senate Banking Committee in December.
The Ex-Im Bank has been without a quorum — at least three members — on its board for more than two years, meaning it has been unable to consider deals greater than $10 million.
Manufacturers argue that they have lost billions of dollars in deals and that has deprived U.S. workers of good-paying jobs that would have been supported by Ex-Im Bank business.
“As a result, countries in Europe and beyond have been luring U.S. manufacturers to set up shop overseas to take advantage of foreign export financing because the U.S. system is effectively broken,” Timmons wrote.
Last month, a bipartisan group of 68 House lawmakers urged Republican and Democratic Senate leaders to vote on the nominees.
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