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WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate approved a bill that would reauthorize and increase funds for the Export-Import Bank, a federal trade bank that helps boost U.S. exports, delivering to President Obama one of his administration's top priorities for job growth as he seeks re-election.
By J. Scott Applewhite, APSenate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada speaks at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday.
By J. Scott Applewhite, APSenate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada speaks at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday.
The Senate approved the bill, 78-20, after defeating five amendments by Republican senators to restrict or eliminate the bank. The bill passed the U.S. House last week and heads to the White House for Obama's signature. The legislation would reauthorize the bank, whose charter was set to expire at the end of May, through September 2014 and raise the bank's lending cap from $100 billion to $140 billion to provide credit and loan guarantees to support the purchase of U.S. exports abroad.Despite broad bipartisan support for the bank in both chambers, the bill was delayed for months in a largely philosophical dispute that highlighted divides within the GOP on the relationship between the free market and the U.S. government.The Export-Import Bank, created in 1934, has been routinely reauthorized in its history without significant partisan dispute. Key industries supported by the bank include mining, renewable energy, aircraft and the power sector, including gas, coal and nuclear."Reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank is the kind of consensus proposal that shouldn't result in a partisan fight," said Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., in floor remarks calling for the defeat of the five GOP-authored amendments.The amount of loans, guarantees and insurance authorized by the Export-Import Bank has soared in the past five fiscal years as the federal government tries to boost export jobs. A fiscal year runs from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30 of the following year. Amounts are in billions. Source: U.S. Export-Import BankThe legislation had strong support from the business lobby, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers, as critical to U.S. job safety and growth. It was opposed by a small but influential number of fiscal conservatives as a form of corporate welfare. The anti-tax group Club for Growth opposed the legislation and has endorsed the elimination of the bank. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, a fiscal conservative, offered an amendment to the bill that would have terminated the bank in one year, but it was handily defeated, 12-87.The bill was a target for a dispute between Boeing and Delta Air Lines, the latter of which has argued that bank policies have hurt its ability to compete with foreign airlines that have used bank funds to purchase Boeing aircraft.The disagreement drew in Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., who worked with Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., on a bill that could pass the House and includes new transparency requirements for the bank and a directive to the Treasury secretary to engage in talks on eliminating export subsidies for aircraft. The bill passed the House 330-93, with all 93 "no" votes cast by Republicans.The U.S. Chamber of Commerce wrote in a letter to senators before the vote that the legislation directly affects about 300,000 American jobs and 3,600 companies.It is a legislative victory for Obama, who has repeatedly called on Congress to reauthorize and increase funding for the bank as part of his administration's efforts to drive up exports and create jobs."Last year marked the highest level of financing in the Bank's 77-year history, as they supported thousands of U.S. companies, hundreds of thousands of jobs, and brought us closer to the goal I set of doubling our nation's exports by the end of 2014," Obama said in a statement released Tuesday.The president will meet Wednesday at the White House with senior congressional leaders to discuss further action on his economic proposals outlined last September to a joint session of Congress.For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.
