The House on Wednesday (Nov. 4) is slated to vote on 10 amendments making reforms to the Export-Import Bank as it considers a long-term highway bill that includes Ex-Im renewal, while a key opponent of the bank acknowledged the bank is now certain to be reauthorized.
November 4, 2015 | Inside U.S. Trade
In a Nov. 2 Facebook post, Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-SC), who is sponsoring six of the 10 amendments, admitted that Ex-Im renewal was a “foregone conclusion” due to the “massive” lobbying efforts by the business community. Mulvaney’s amendments run the gamut from increasing proportion of Ex-Im financing that must go to small businesses to 40 percent from the current 20 percent, to limiting the bank’s ability to back exports to countries with sovereign wealth funds.
Bank supporters — including the White House, business associations, and House Democrats — have urged the House to reject all amendments related to Ex-Im. A House aide supportive of Ex-Im indicated she expected all of the amendments to be defeated.
The Ex-Im amendments are among the more than 120 amendments to the highway bill that are being considered on the House floor, under two separate rules. All Ex-Im amendments are being considered under the second rule, which was approved Tuesday evening by the House Rules Committee and is expected to be voted on at roughly 2 p.m. Wednesday on the House floor.
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