Congress reauthorized the Export-Import Bank Thursday as part of the five-year transportation funding bill that passed the House and Senate and will go to President Obama for signing. The bank, which guarantees loans on U.S. exports to foreign buyers, will be a boost for international aircraft sales, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association said in a statement. “The lapse in the Ex-Im Bank’s authority should never have occurred, and the bank’s closure has taken a serious toll on both small and large general aviation manufacturers who have seen deals disappear or be delayed during these last five months,” GAMA President and CEO Pete Bunce said. “While renewal of the Bank took much longer than it should have, we appreciate the efforts of those who have worked so hard in securing the Bank’s reform and reauthorization.”
The bank’s authorization had expired June 30. Passage of the bill gives it operating authority until Sept. 30, 2019. While the reauthorization had bipartisan support along with business organizations such as GAMA and large corporations, it met resistance from some Republicans who said it mixed government with the marketplace. Boeing is the largest beneficiary of the Export-Import Bank, and had argued that losing it could result in moving jobs to other countries, according to a Fortune report. Boeing said the bank allows U.S. companies to compete globally. “With these votes, Congress did the right thing for workers at companies large and small across the nation, including the 1.5 million workers at nearly 15,000 U.S. companies that help Boeing design, make and support America’s aerospace exports,” the company said after the bill’s passage.
