House GOP Reckless Shutdown of Ex-Im Bank's Charter 'Costing' Jobs & Local Economies
Democrats have come together over the last few months, providing proposals and demanding a vote not just for the businesses who have been held hostage to the ideological sentiment of a few here on Capitol Hill, but for the workers who depend on these businesses to support and provide a better future for themselves and for their families.
It is imperative that we restore the Ex-Im Bank so it can continue its mission of supporting and creating jobs for the American worker. It's time for Republicans in leadership to stop handing victories to our foreign competitors and the far right members of their party and bring Ex-Im up for a vote before this brinksmanship further damages our economy and our ability to compete in the global marketplace.
…announcement of layoffs at Boeing in El Segundo underscores how House Republicans' decision to shut down the Export-Import Bank is a complete and utter abrogation of their responsibility to act on behalf of the American people. The shutdown of the bank is having devastating impacts on California's 33rd district, as well as communities from coast to coast.
Hardworking Americans at Boeing's El Segundo facility, at plants and companies across our nation, deserve much, much better than to have their livelihoods jeopardized by the most cynical kind of partisan politics practiced by Tea Party Republicans.
Let me be clear: the sole reason this work cannot be performed in Schenectady is that House Republicans have failed to renew the Export-Import Bank.
…These jobs are gone because Republican House Leadership decided it was more important to appease the extreme conservative flank of their own party than to abandon politics-as-usual and renew an agency that supported 164,000 jobs nationwide – all at a $675 million surplus to the taxpayer – last year alone. This, again, is an indisputable fact. One only needs to point to the Republican-controlled Senate and their overwhelming vote on July 27th to renew the agency to demonstrate that there is bipartisan support for the bank. All these families in Schenectady needed was for Speaker Boehner to give us a vote. That never happened.
This is the biggest blow to our community, which has enjoyed the success and prosperity of an apolitical partnership between the private and public sectors for decades, in a very long time.
- Congressman Joe Courtney, on impact of GOP's refusal to renew the Bank:
This is not a political parlor game in Washington, D.C…They've run the numbers and there's nothing out there that even comes close to what they've been getting from Ex-Im for decades.
The media is taking note of the GOP's reckless actions that are destroying American jobs across the country.
The Pueblo Chieftain (Colorado):
…politics in Washington threaten to upset the fine-tuned economy we've worked to build here in Colorado.
Small high-tech computer manufacturers particularly benefit from Ex-Im, along with Colorado's strong ranching community and our unique aerospace industry. Exports also are critical to our continued economic growth.
Las Vegas Sun (Nevada):
A small but powerful group in Washington is fighting to kill the Export-Import Bank…
Their rationale? A misguided view that any government activity that helps American business is an improper intrusion in the marketplace — "crony capitalism," in their words. But Ex-Im's services are available to help any American business selling goods abroad.
Ending Ex-Im isn't just a risky bet, it's a sure loser.
89.7 WKSU (Ohio):
It remains shuttered after Congress decided to let the bank's charter expire at the end of June.
Jerry Arth…president of Grand Rock Company in Painesville, which makes motor vehicle parts…says private banking firms and insurers aren't as accommodating with small companies such as his.
The Providence Journal Editorial (Rhode Island):
For the first time in its history, however…bank has stopped accepting new applications, because Congress allowed the bank's charter to expire on July 1.
The State Newspaper (South Carolina):
…one of the most important such programs is shut down…It's the Export-Import Bank, which offers financing and insurance to help American businesses sell products overseas.
Congress…must renew the Ex-Im Bank so it can carry on its vital mission — growing business and helping equalize opportunity in our state.
MySA Editorial (Texas):
…Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and U.S. Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Dallas. These two have staunchly opposed the Export-Import Bank, a key source of credit for U.S. companies doing business overseas.
Their opposition has cost Dallas…
American families, small businesses and manufacturers across the country continue to reel from Republican's refusal to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank. Republicans have abandoned thousands of export-reliant workers and small businesses who rely on the Charter to sell their goods overseas.