The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a transportation funding bill that will renew the Export-Import Bank’s charter to Sept. 30, 2019.
It authorizes federal spending on road, bridge and rail transit infrastructure projects for six years and provides guaranteed funding for three years.
However, the bill stills needs to pass the Senate and comes with some strings attached.
The bank offered loans and credit guarantees to overseas customers of U.S. companies to support U.S. exports, but the trade bank’s charter expired on June 30 and its future has been in limbo since then.
It’s inclusion in this transportation bill is seen as the best hope of reauthorizing the bank, as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has declared that he will not allow an independent vote on renewing the bank.
However, critics have claimed that the Ex-Im Bank should be closed permanently because it offers “corporate welfare” to multinationals.
The bill itself faced a number of amendments which were intended to limit the scope of Ex-Im Bank's charter, including a measure restricting funding to goods made by small businesses. The House considered some 80 amendments before voting through the bill.
The House and Senate must now reconcile their respective versions of the bill, which differ in details.
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