Manufacturing, business groups ask U.S. Senate to move on Export-Import Bank nominee
by July 6, 2016 4:39 pm 105 views
A national manufacturing trade organization has called out the U.S. Senate to address a key role in the Board of Directors of the U.S. Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank.
Jay Timmons, president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), joined with U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Tom Donohue to urge the Senate towards action in restoring a quorum to Ex-Im.
“The Senate needs to vote on the nominee for the Ex-Im Board of Directors to get this important institution up and running again,” Timmons and Donohue said. “Overwhelming majorities in both chambers of Congress voted to reauthorize the bank last year, and there should be no further delay in making it fully operational.”
In the wake of Brexit, the pair said that the past few days “have reminded all of us that global volatility poses significant challenges for U.S. businesses and manufacturers of all sizes.”
The statement continued: “We must have every available tool to secure jobs at home and sell our products to customers overseas. The Ex-Im Bank is a critical tool, giving American workers the ability to compete and win in the global economy. But, one year after its authorization lapsed, the agency is still not fully functional. Without a quorum of board members, it cannot authorize certain transactions that will protect U.S. jobs. The games, delays and political maneuvering have gone on long enough and are damaging our economy.”
Timmons and Donohue believe the Ex-Im’s Board of Directors need the quorum “to fully operate and provide manufacturers and businesses with tools they need to reach the 95 percent of customers who are located outside the United States.”
NAM represents small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Manufacturing employs more than 12 million people, and contributes $2.17 trillion to the U.S. economy annually.