Republicans Shutting Down Ex-Im Bank Will Be 'Devastating' for American Jobs
Los Angeles Times – Export-Import Bank's cloudy future raises worries of job losses
To kill the Export-Import Bank, all that House Republican leaders opposing it have to do is let the bank's charter expire Tuesday...
Shutting the bank's tap, though, also would eliminate tens of thousands of jobs…
"It's going to be devastating for us," said Don Nelson, chief executive of ProGauge Technologies Inc., a Bakersfield manufacturer of oil industry equipment. "Basically, we just won't be able to export anymore."
Exports make up about 70% of ProGauge's business. A nd if the company can't export, it would have to lay off 30 more employees…
Bank supporters note that Boeing Co. funnels business to some 15,600 U.S. suppliers, a third of them in California. And although major corporations could survive without the bank's assistance, many small exporters like ProGauge might not.
"If you had told me a decade ago that this would ever be something our country would eliminate, I would have said you're crazy," Jeffrey R. Immelt, chief executive of General Electric Co., said in a Washington speech this month.
The National Assn. of Manufacturers, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups are lobbying aggressively for the bank's charter to be reauthorized. The Obama administration is pushing for a five-year reauthorization, and most Democrats and many Republicans support the bank.
"It will definitely slow my growth to near zero. I'll have to cut domestic jobs for sure," said Robert Patton, chief executive of Patton Electronics Co., a communications equipment manufacturer in Gaithersburg, Md. "There [are] definitely deals that we've already lost."
Patton said he depends on the Export-Import Bank to help provide financing until payments are received from foreign sales, which make up about 70% of the company's revenue.
"I don't know of a domestic bank that will loan on international receivables without some sort of insurance," Patton said.
"We're competing internationally against other companies that have the kind of facilities the Ex-Im Bank provides to our companies," he said. "It's a ridiculous thing to take away."
Some business owners have said the uncertainty over the bank's future already has cost them sales. And the National Assn. of Manufacturers said those will add up if Congress doesn't act soon to keep the bank running.
Phoenix Business Journal (Arizona) – Why Export-Import Bank shutdown could cost Arizona jobs
A lack of action in the U.S. House of Representatives means that the Export-Import Bank dies on July 1, and that could have an effect on dozens of Arizona businesses with pending applications to finance growth, and new jobs are out of luck.
"It's really a shame," said Rick Murray, president and CEO of the Arizona Small Business Association. "The Ex-Im Bank does more to help small business, and with it going away, it's one tool lost to Arizona businesses trying to expand into exports."
"Dozens of Arizona businesses use this service," said Mark Roberts, vice president of specialty services for Alliance Bank of Arizona. "The Ex-Im Bank guarantees payments for businesses doing business globally, this allows banks to provide financing for those exports as a business grows."
South Bend Tribune (Indiana) – Loss of Ex-Im Bank could affect local manufacturers
Debts with foreign companies can be risky for Michigan City manufacturer Sullivan-Palatek.
Thanks to the Export-Import Bank, though, the small business can work with overseas companies with little fear of contracts being defaulted on, said Bruce McFee, the company's chairman and CEO.
But come Tuesday, if Congress does not reauthorize the bank's charter, it will eventually go out of business and cease all benefits it provides to U.S. companies...
"We could never work with these companies without the Export-Import Bank," McFee said. "Before we could not find a private creditor to help us with this."
Soon it will be impossible, McFee said, to get new foreign business, which is typically the company's largest orders.
SC Times (Minnesota) – Don't abolish US Export-Import Bank
My company, ION Corp., is one of the nearly 6,750 businesses in Minnesota that manufacture products in our state…
All of this is at risk due to wrongheaded politics in Washington, D.C.
Over the past several years, Ex-Im has directly helped Minnesota companies sell over $3 billion in goods to foreign customers.
Abolishing the bank could devastate U.S. exports of Boeing large commercial aircraft, which support 10,000 high-skill workers in Minnesota. Across America, Boeing relies on over 15,000 subcontractors and suppliers in 49 states. Each of those companies prove that even when Ex-Im helps a big company like Boeing close a sale, thousands of small companies reap the benefits.
Wilmington Biz (North Carolina) – Local Companies Disappointed At Export-Import Bank Sunset
As the federal Export-Import Bank prepares to sunset because of Congressional inaction, local companies that rely on the bank are not enjoying the view.
"It would be a real shame if the Export-Import Bank program is not continued," Russell La Belle, president of Wilmington Machinery, said Monday. His company has used the services of the bank to help sell its blow molding and plastic injection molding machinery abroad.
Republicans have spent this year focusing on destructive, partisan issues to the dismay of hard-working Americans who are in need of bigger paychecks and better infrastructure. GOP dysfunction, obstruction and distraction continues to be a stumbling block to economic growth and job creation for American families.