Senate Votes To Revive Export Agency

The Senate voted to resurrect the U.S. Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank) last week, setting up a collision with conservative opponents in the House of Representatives later this year. Lawmakers voted 64-29 to attach a reauthorization of the bank’s charter, which expired on June 30, to a long-term highway bill. The amendment, from Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), reauthorizes the bank’s charter through the fall of 2019. The 81-year-old bank was created during the Great Depression to lend money to U.S. exporters and their foreign customers. Most nations that compete economically with the U.S., including China, Japan, and Germany, have similar government-backed export credit agencies. Business officials worry that U.S. companies will be less competitive globally unless Congress renews the institution. “I suspect our competitors abroad are cheering because they understand U.S. companies and our country’s economy is at a competitive disadvantage without Ex-Im,” says Kevin M. Kolevar, vice president of government affairs at Dow Chemical. The bank is opposed by many conservative House Republicans, who view it as corporate welfare.