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Saturday, October 10, 2015

Seems to me that if "export credit financing agencies" are suitable for other countries, then the Ex-Im Bank is appropriate for the U.S. Screw the GOP!

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COMMENTS: 
*  Are conservatives that stupid to remove a needed organization for the US to compete?...Looks like it. I hope they can reauthorize it.
*  Every reason stated for opposing reauthorizing the Ex-Im bank is factually incorrect. Jobs are being directly lost due to the Republican opposition to reauthorization. Sad, but true.
*  conservative republicans...always ready let ideology overcome common sense
    *  I'm sure there are bat crazy Democrats but the loony bird Republicans have been stealing the show
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Republicans, Democrats join to force vote to save Export-Import Bank
By Brian J. Tumulty, October 9, 2015

A bipartisan majority of House lawmakers joined in using a rare parliamentary maneuver Friday to force a vote to revive an 80-year-old federal agency that makes it easier for foreign companies to borrow money to buy U.S.-made products.

In just over four hours, a 218-member majority of House members signed a "discharge petition" to bring the reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank to a vote on the House floor. The bank's authorization expired June 30 after conservative Republicans kept it from receiving a vote in committee.

The petition was initiated Friday morning by approximately 40 House Republicans led by Republican Rep. Steven Fincher of Tennessee, who told fellow Republicans about his plan during a private meeting Wednesday. A vote by the full House is expected later this month.

“We’re hopeful there are enough Democrats to get it across the finish line,’’ Rep. Richard Hanna, R-N.Y. said prior to the filing. “Nobody is comfortable or happy about doing this, but when you have something that is ideologically bound up, we are left with no choice.’’

There is already enough support in the Senate to revive the bank.

Conservative House Republicans, led by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, have been blocking a vote on the reauthorization. They say taxpayers should not be underwriting risky deals that commercial banks spurn. They argue the bank is rife with “crony capitalism,’’ and the expiration of its authority to make new loans allows the free market to operate more efficiently.

Hensarling criticized the petition Friday saying it "sets a serious, very dangerous precedent for our Republican majority that goes far beyond Ex-Im,'' describing the parliamentary procedure as "the exact opposite of regular order.''

However, discharge petitions have been part of the House rules since 1910, with the essential features of the current rule dating back to 1931, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service.

The last successful use of a discharge petition in the House was in 2002, when 218 signatures forced a floor vote that led to passage of a bipartisan campaign finance reform bill sponsored by Republican Rep. Christopher Shays of Connecticut and Democratic Rep. Martin Meehan of Massachusetts. The bill had passed the Senate earlier, championed by Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona and Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin.

The bank’s supporters say U.S. manufacturers are competing in a global marketplace where countries such as China, Germany, Japan, Brazil, South Korea, Mexico, France and the United Kingdom have their own export credit financing agencies to help their manufacturers to win new contracts.

The U.S. Export-Import Bank competes against 59 other nations that have export finance agencies, according to the National Association of Manufacturers.

The bank's two biggest clients in the United States are aviation giant Boeing and General Electric, which makes jet engines used in commercial aircraft and power-generating turbines, which are another product frequently bought with money from Ex-Im loans.
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