Time is Right to Revive the Export-Import Bank

Extreme right-wingers in Congress have succeeded in hamstringing a critical tool to maintain and grow American jobs, the Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank, but a new effort is being made to revive the only government agency that funds U.S. exports.

House Democrats and a group of House Republicans are working to gather support for a bill that would permit a vote to reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank. The IAM supports a full reauthorization of the Bank, which has been unable to issue new loans since its charter was allowed to expire on June 30, 2015.

TAKE ACTION: Tell your Representative to support H.R. 450, which would finally permit the House to vote on a full reauthorization of the Ex-Im Bank, and H.R. 597, which would reauthorize the bank.

“Without Ex-Im Bank support, U.S. manufacturers have already begun to lose out to our global competitors,” said IAM International President Tom Buffenbarger in a letter to Congress.

General Electric cited uncertainty about the Bank for shutting down an engine plant in Wisconsin, which will result in the loss of 350 IAM jobs. Commercial satellite provider ABS canceled a large satellite contract with Boeing because of similar uncertainty.

“As thousands of American jobs are being lost because of inaction by Congress, the reauthorization of the Ex-Im Bank is no longer an academic exercise, but rather a debacle with serious consequences,” said Buffenbarger.

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