Chamber of Commerce Goes to Bat for Ex-Im Renewal Legislation

The Chamber of Commerce urged lawmakers in the House and Senate to jump on board the Export-Import Bank Reform and Reauthorization Act of 2015, S-819, in a March 23 letter. Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., is the lead sponsor for the legislation, and several Democrats, including lead co-sponsor Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., and key Ex-Im supporter Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., signed on (here). The credit agency's charter expires on June 30. "If Congress fails to reauthorize Ex-Im, the United States would become the only major trading nation without such a bank, putting American exporters at a unique disadvantage in tough global markets," said the letter. "Far from skewing the playing field, this bill would level it by reauthorizing the bank and ensuring transparency in its operations." But all Democrats in the House and a half dozen colleagues in the Senate endorsed an alternate reauthorization bill, HR-1031 (here), over the past month (see 1502250042).