NAM president urges Ex-Im Bank chairman nominee to withdraw

Jay Timmons, president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers, told former Rep. Scott Garrett, nominee to lead the Ex-Im Bank, “do America’s manufacturers—and President Trump—a favor: withdraw your nomination from consideration.”    Jay Timmons, president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), has made it no secret that he disapproves of former Congressman Scott Garrett’s nomination to lead the nation’s Export-Import Bank.
   NAM has written numerous op-eds and taken out radio advertisements around the country calling Garrett the wrong person for the job. While in Congress, Garrett was one of the legislative leaders determined to dismantle the Ex-Im Bank, which many companies believe would be a disaster for country’s export competitiveness.
   “It is too late to change your record or secure our trust with empty words about reform,” Timmons wrote in a strongly worded letter to Garrett on Tuesday. “As such, we urge you to withdraw your nomination for the position of president and chair of the Ex-Im Bank.”
   Garrett’s confirmation before the Senate Banking Committee is scheduled for Nov. 1, along with the other Ex-Im Bank nominees including Kimberly A. Reed as first vice president; Spencer Bachus III, Judith Delzoppo Pryor, and Claudia Slacik as board members; and Mark L. Greenblatt as inspector general.
   Timmons said NAM’s request for Garrett’s withdraw “is not made lightly,” adding “We certainly respect your right to seek employment. But, quite frankly, we are more concerned about the manufacturing workers in our country who work hard every single day and whose jobs are dependent on a fully functioning Ex-Im Bank.”
   NAM, however, praised President Trump for his desire to restore the operational integrity of the Ex-Im Bank.
   “But your record of contempt for the agency you desire to lead is an embarrassment to our president and an affront to all manufacturing workers in this country. You are the wrong person to advance the Trump agenda for manufacturers,” Timmons told Garrett. “So please, do America’s manufacturers—and President Trump—a favor: withdraw your nomination from consideration.”