On Ex-Im, House Republicans 'Unpersuaded' by Facts
But, as CQ reports today, not even these cold, hard facts can persuade extreme House Republicans to drop their radical assault on American workers and join Democrats to reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank:
GE Job Move, Benefit Data Leave Ex-Im Bank Critics Unpersuaded
Lawmakers may look more closely at the jobs in their states and districts backed by the Export-Import bank after General Electric said last week that it's shifting hundreds of jobs from the United States overseas to take advantage of foreign financing.
GE, headquartered in Connecticut, will move 500 jobs from Texas, South Carolina, Maine and New York to France, Hungary and China. Few close observers of the argument over the Ex-Im Bank's charter will have missed the presence of Texas and South Carolina on the list, states with strong congressional opposition to the bank and states that are among the largest recipients of Ex-Im Bank financing.
Congress allowed the Ex-Im Bank charter to lapse at the end of June. The bank is now managing its loan portfolio, but providing no new financing. GE's announcement on jobs prompted a flurry of news releases from manufacturers and backers of the bank calling for renewal…
…Texas, the home state of House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling, is the second biggest state recipient, getting $32 billion of exports financed by the bank since 2007. Hensarling enabled the expiration of the charter in the summer and wasn't swayed by GE's announcement…
Ex-Im Bank supporters have for months warned about the economic consequences of shuttering an agency that financed $305 billion in exports since 2007. They were quick to cite the GE news as proof of their case.
The manufacturing lobbying, which normally is allied with Republicans but supports the bank, said it would make job losses a top issue. "Those who oppose the Ex-Im owe the country some answers: Why do they support ceding good manufacturing jobs to foreign countries? Why don't they support American workers?" said Jay Timmons, president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers.
Congressional Democrats seized on the GE move to call on House Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio, who has expressed lukewarm support for an extension, to quickly hold a vote on renewing the bank's charter.
…"Congress has the responsibility to do all it can to support job creation and economic growth, yet because of the failure of House Republican leadership to schedule debate on legislation to reauthorize the bank, it has effectively disarmed and hindered American business' ability to compete on a level playing field overseas," House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, and other Democrats wrote to GOP leaders this week.
House GOP leaders have avoided a floor vote amid the fierce conservative opposition. The Senate passed a renewal in July.
Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who opposes the bank, comes from a state that received $24 billion in export financing since 2007. He hasn't responded to the recent calls for a floor vote.
South Carolina House Republicans are split over the charter. Trey Gowdy, whose Greenville district would stand to lose jobs from the GE move, has called for renewal, but eventually phasing the bank out. But Jeff Duncan and Mick Mulvaney continue to oppose the bank and have called for finding other ways to preserve U.S. jobs.
The Senate's passage of renewal in July hasn't ended disagreement in that chamber. Nor has the GE announcement.
Republican Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a leading backer of the bank, called the move by GE "bad news and fears worse will come" if the House does not agree to a renewal. South Carolina had about $4 billion in exports financed in recent years, bank data shows.
Senate Banking Chairman Richard C. Shelby, R-Ala., whose state has had about $871 million in Ex-Im Bank-financed exports since 2007, said the job numbers don't change his belief…