South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and 25 of his Republican colleagues have embarked on an effort to make sure financing continues for the Export-Import Bank, whose authorization is set to expire June 1.
The senators want action on a bill that would extend the bank’s financing, which failed last week after Republicans refused to provide the votes to cut off debate on the topic, a process known as cloture,
Politico reports.
Republicans refused to support cloture, because Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., wanted to attach the Export-Import Bank authorization to a jobs-related bill already supported by the House, Politico reports.
The 26 GOP senators wrote a letter to Reid Thursday pressuring him to act.
“The full Senate must be afforded an opportunity to work its will on the measure through the amendment process,” the letter reads. “It is our belief that once the Senate has had the ability to debate and vote on amendments related to the legislation, we will be able to pass a bill with a very large bipartisan majority.” The Senate is unlikely to take action until Congress returns from its spring recess in April.
Exporters, especially small companies, say financing from the Export-Import Bank is often necessary to allow them to make sales overseas, according to Politico.
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