Bryan Derreberry reports that there has been news recently on the reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank of the United States. Recently, a group of congressional members have mounted an effort to shut down the bank. Both of South Carolina senators, Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott, are supporters of Ex-Im reauthorization. Through a symbolic pre-vote, it received bipartisan support in the Senate 65-31 in favor of the bank reauthorization. The Ex-Im Bank is the official export credit agency of the U.S., and assists in financing the export of U.S. goods and services to international markets. The bank supports billions of dollars of U.S. exports and hundreds of thousands of export-related U.S. jobs each year. The Ex-Im helps to support more than 17,000 jobs in Carolina alone through 72 different companies. In the 1st and 6th congressional districts, Ex-Im has supported 16 companies and more than 12,600 jobs. Critics say Ex-Im is not needed that commercial banks should be doing this job rather than the government while ignoring the fact that Ex-Im is barred by law from competing against commercial banks. Critics also make the bizarre claim that Ex-Im hurts taxpayers. Since Ex-Im charges fees for its services and interest on the loans it makes, Ex-Im does not cost taxpayers a single dime.
Because Ex-Im collects more than it costs to run, most years the bank returns money to the Treasury. Over the past six years, Ex-Im has generated a surplus of $2.7 million. It helps to finance large projects throughout the world where U.S. companies are involved, many of which could be nuclear plant construction projects. Since its establishment in 1934, the Export-Import Bank of the United States has supported billions of U.S. export dollars and provided thousands of export-related jobs each year. The bank helps to keep U.S. businesses globally competitive. If Congress does not act now to reauthorize, the bank will expire on June 30, 2015.
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