NAM: George Allen calls on congress to pass reauthorization of the Ex-Im Bank

A Washington Examiner (4/25) op-ed by George Allen, former Republican Governor and Senator from Virginia, says that reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank is a “no-brainer.” Allen calls on fellow Republicans to support the reauthorization of the Ex-Im Bank because it “spurs American business and jobs, while helping to reduce the federal deficit at no cost to taxpayers,” historically Republican ideals. Allen then gives examples of how the Export-Import Bank has helped small companies export to places like China and Australia, act as the “lender of last resort” when private lenders can’t or won’t lend to businesses, and help repay the national debt through the fees it charges for its services. Allen concludes that reauthorization is a decision that should be easy for people on both sides of the aisle and that the Export-Import Bank is an organization to be “cherished.”

Manufacturers Continue To Push For Reauthorization Of Export-Import Bank. Reuters (4/24, Hughes) reports that the president of the Ex-Im Bank, Fred Hochberg, urged members of Congress yesterday to support a bill for reauthorization. Hochberg said that lawmakers were playing games of a political nature and that they undervalued the Ex-Im Bank’s role in supporting jobs and facilitating trade in the US. The White House has sent a bill that would allow the Ex-Im Bank to operate for five more years with a lending limit of $160 billion, $20 billion more than the last reauthorization. Critics of the Ex-Im bank are accusing it of cronyism and corporate welfare. Supporters of the Ex-Im Bank say that it facilitates trade deals through its financing, which help US companies compete against foreign subsidies. The bill from the White House has bipartisan support and the support of businesses and organizations like NAM. Reuters quotes Lauren Airey, trade facilitation policy director at NAM, who said that the organization is urging members of Congress to speed up legislation that will reauthorize the Ex-Im bank before its current authorization runs out on September 30.

The Hill (4/25) reports in its “On The Money” blog that Linda Dempsey, vice president of international economic affairs at NAM, wants Congress to realize that 90 percent of Ex-Im loans benefit small businesses, adding that the global economy isn’t waiting for Congress to provide funding. The loans help businesses get a shot at being the first to sell their products in foreign markets, says Dempsey. “The issue that Ex-Im reauthorization presents is whether those foreign projects will use products made in the United States by American workers or whether those sales will go to our competitors in Asia, Europe or elsewhere,” Dempsey explains. Lauren Airey added, “reauthorization of the bank is a vital component to a robust U.S. trade policy that levels the playing field for America’s manufacturers whose international competitors already benefit from their own governments’ highly generous export financing.”