McConnell attempts to fill Ex-Im Bank’s empty suit

   Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell filed cloture this week to attempt to break the political logjam against three of President Trump’s Export-Import Bank board nominees.
   A cloture is a procedure whereby the Senate can vote to place a time limit on consideration of a bill or other matter to overcome a filibuster. However, to pass requires about 60 senators to approve, or about two-thirds of the chamber’s members. 
   Industry associations have grown increasingly frustrated by the years-long failure to return the Export-Import Bank to its full loan-making authority.
   Since 2015, the bank has been ensnared in a political debate whether to continue its operations, with opponents referring to the financial institution’s loans to large American companies, such as Boeing and GE, as “corporate welfare” and “crony capitalism,” while proponents say it helps U.S. companies of all sizes to receive sufficient financing to compete for export deals to developing countries against foreign competitors. Many overseas companies, including in China and across Europe, have access to financing from similar government-owned banks.
   “A fully functional Ex-Im Bank is a top priority for manufacturers of all sizes, and we estimate that 80,000 jobs and $119 billion in output were lost from 2016 to 2018 because of the agency’s inability to approve major deals,” said Jay Timmons, National Association of Manufacturers president and CEO, in a statement Thursday. “That’s why we’re looking forward to the nominees’ confirmation next week to secure this victory for America’s manufacturing workers.”
   Other large trade groups that have voiced support for the Ex-Im Bank in recent years include the Aerospace Industries Association, American Chemistry Council, Association of Equipment Manufacturers, National Foreign Trade Council and U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
   Currently, Jeffrey D. Gerrish serves as acting bank president. Ex-Im Bank rules require three of the five board seats to be filled to approve financing in amounts larger than $10 million.
   The three pending Ex-Im Bank board nominees are Kimberly Reed, Judith DelZoppo Pryor and Spencer Bachus. Last August, the Senate Banking Committee voted to advance Reed’s nomination as Ex-Im Bank president, but her confirmation has not yet received the full Senate’s approval. Reed previously served as president of the International Food Information Council Foundation.
   President Trump submitted the three Ex-Im Bank board nominations to the Senate in 2017.
   The beleaguered bank was closed during the summer of 2015 while a group of Republican lawmakers opposed the reauthorization of its charter. Ex-Im Bank supporters in Congress managed to reauthorize its charter on Dec. 3, 2015, as part of a long-term transportation bill. The bill approved long-term reauthorization from Congress that will remain in effect through Sept. 30.