Export-Import Bank, stymied by critics, gets a break

(McClatchyDC, Washington, 12 July 2016) Lawmakers in the House of Representatives, including Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, moved Tuesday to assist the embattled federally charted bank for U.S. exporters. The House Appropriations Committee approved an amendment to a funding bill that effectively will enable the bank to approve loans of more than $10 million again. The bank board, with only two members, has been unable to get a quorum of three members out of five positions – as required by its charter – in order to approve large loans. “A backlog of more than 30 transactions worth more than $20 billion is stalled until Ex-Im regains its quorum,” Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pa., told the Appropriations Committee on Tuesday. His amendment to allow a quorum to consist of two members for three years was approved as part of the appropriations bill that funds the State Department and other related agencies. “It would allow them to function with two board members,” Dent told McClatchy. Granger, the chairwoman of the subcommittee that oversees the bill, supported the amendment and it passed by voice vote.