The Hill: Key GOP rep: Ex-Im benefits small business
The Hill - Rebecca Shabad
Just a few days after its nine-month reauthorization, Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) on Monday defended the Export-Import Bank, saying it benefits small businesses, including those in his district.
“While the existence of Ex-Im is sometimes questioned, I believe the current benefits felt by businesses across the country, in Oklahoma and the Fourth Congressional District argues strongly for its reauthorization,” he wrote in a column released by his office.
The stopgap spending bill President Obama signed Friday extends Ex-Im’s charter through June 30. Conservative lawmakers had threatened not to reauthorize the bank before its September 30 expiration date.
Cole, a member of the House Appropriations and Budget committees, argued Ex-Im has helped more than 100 Oklahoma-based companies export their products overseas.
Since 2007, Cole said, Ex-Im has supported more than $1.1 billion in sales in Oklahoma.
“In an era when foreign governments are directly subsidizing industries, American companies are in need of a level playing field, and I believe that Ex-Im does that responsibly. In fact, Ex-Im has returned more than $2.6 billion to the United States Treasury since 2008,” Cole wrote.
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) recently expressed support for Ex-Im’s nine-month extension, but the short-term plan could lead to its elimination next year.
Online: The Hill