Speaker Boehner & House GOP Killing Ex-Im Bank Will Be 'Monumentally Stupid, Self-Inflicted Wound to The Economy'
Cleavland.com Editorial – Export-Import Bank deserves reauthorization
The Export-Import Bank of the United States – a Depression-era creation originally designed to facilitate trade with the Soviet Union -- boosts U.S. exports to countries around the world and has been a valuable asset to the U.S. economy.
Despite its bipartisan support in Congress, the bank is in danger of extinction.
Critics also conveniently ignore the fact the bank has become self-sustaining, thanks to the fees it charges…
Among opponents are the wealthy Koch Brothers, which may explain some of the criticism…
USA Today Editorial – Save Export-Import Bank
…Republicans…[are] out to kill the Export-Import Bank of the United States, an agency that provides financing for foreign buyers of American goods. If they succeed, it will be a monumentally stupid, self-inflicted wound to the economy.
The bank's charter expired at the end of June. It's in a kind of limbo waiting for Washington to find some reason to renew it. The bank won't be able to make or back any new loans, and it will soon wither and die if Congress doesn't act.
The Club for Growth, Heritage Action and other conservative groups see an added attraction. By killing the Export-Import Bank, they can claim a trophy. And a trophy, any trophy, helps them establish themselves as power brokers and gatekeepers within the Republican Party.
The truth is, American manufacturers want and need the Export-Import Bank, created in 1934. It has a long history of bipartisan support in Washington and broad-based business support throughout the country.
…it's time for Congress to come to its senses and save the Export-Import Bank.
Ahwatukee Foothill News (Arizona) – Re-authorize the Export Import Bank
…Ex-Im should not be a partisan issue.
…Allowing the Ex-Im to expire would be a mistake of epic proportions for Arizona's manufacturing sector and export economy.
Ex-Im provides payment insurance enabling small businesses to sell to global customers, and provides small and large companies with guarantees for extended projects.
Ex-Im is not "crony capitalism."
…U.S. business community needs our elected leaders to restore the stability of this critical program.
Idaho Statesman – Reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank would boost Idaho businesses, jobs
…Newly released figures show that in 2014, local firms shipped $5.1 billion in merchandise to foreign markets. That's one of the highest annual totals on record.
Unfortunately, a critical agency that has helped enable our state's robust export base just closed its doors. The congressional charter for the Export-Import Bank just expired, even though it has helped Idaho's business community establish a global footprint, creating local jobs and growing our economy.
Unless Congress acts quickly to reauthorize the bank's charter, the local businesses that depend on it will suffer.
…without Ex-Im, American firms will be put at a distinct disadvantage on the global stage…
Bayou Buzz (Louisiana) – Congress should reauthorize Export-Import Bank
…lawmakers should prioritize reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank.
…Congress has the votes to save the bank — as long as leaders can drown out a few loud voices.
The Detroit News (Michigan) – Mich. businesses depend on Ex-Im Bank
In Michigan, the Bank supports nearly 600,000 jobs and is behind roughly $9.3 billion in export sales at more than 200 companies.
Consider the success of Canton-based Energy International Corporation. The 170-person company exports products related to heating, ventilation, and plumbing. Since it began receiving support from the Ex-Im Bank, the firm has seen its sales double.
A defunct Ex-Im Bank for the long-term would deal a blow to U.S. global competitiveness as well.
A decline in global exports would have devastating local repercussions. Without financing options, Michigan companies that depend on exports will have to scale back their expansion plans and cut local jobs. Congress must act now to renew it and protect the many jobs that depend on the Ex-Im Bank.
Newark Advocate (Ohio) – D.C. uncertainty hurts at home
Uncertainty abounds about the future of the U.S. Export-Import Bank known as EXIM. That D.C. uncertainty is certain to have a negative impact on our Ohio economy. In fact, should EXIM disappear forever, it is Ohio's economy that could suffer the most.
The little-known, yet long-standing agency boosts U.S. exports by providing a platform to support purchase of U.S.-made goods by buyers in less-stable and less-free markets than our own…EXIM, undoubtedly, makes U.S. manufacturers more competitive overseas.
…A program providing an 80-plus year boost to our economy is in jeopardy.
…Jobs should trump philosophy.
The Ohio economy is as strong, perhaps, as it's been in my lifetime. Why let uncertainty risk that?
Washington Post – U.S. manufacturers feel the squeeze after Ex-Im expiration
A week after the charter for the Export-Import Bank lapsed — halting the bank's ability to grant new loans to foreign buyers of U.S. goods — manufacturers say they are already feeling the squeeze.
Kusum Kavia, president of California-based power plant manufacturer Combustion Associates, told Southern California Public Radio that she had to inform Nigerian investors last week that the Ex-Im financing she had promised for a major pending deal was no longer available. Her company is negotiating with investors to build a 44-megawatt plant in Nigeria, but that could fall through because the investors want to sign a contract next month. Without Ex-Im backing, the company could lose the work to competitors in Europe, China and Korea.
House Republican extremists, closely aligned with far-right groups highly influential in the Republican Government Shutdown of 2013, continue to spread misinformation about the job-creating Ex-Im Bank and are seeking to cause more dysfunction, obstruction and distraction. Speaker Boehner should put the far-right propaganda to rest, end this uncertainty and join Democrats now in renewing the Bank's charter!