A bid by rank-and-file Republicans to revive the federal Export-Import Bank is further dividing the House GOP amid its messy quest to choose new leaders in the wake of Speaker John A. Boehner’s decision to resign.
Members on both sides of the issue had their say in a lively discussion behind closed doors at the Capitol Tuesday, as some Republicans try to force the issue onto the floor ahead of an Oct. 29 floor vote to replace Mr. Boehner.
The bank, known as “Ex-Im,” had financed the sale of U.S. goods overseas for decades until a conservative revolt led to its mid-summer demise.
Since Congress let its charter expire, it cannot extend new lines of credit and will slowly die off unless lawmakers act.
Most Democrats and some Republicans want to reauthorize the bank, saying it supports jobs and has majority support in both chambers of Congress, and that top companies like General Electric have already cut jobs because of turmoil at the agency.
“We’ve been begging for months just to let the House vote on this,” said Rep. Adam Kinzinger, Illinois Republican who supports the bank. “It hasn’t happened. This is regular order. A lot of people talk about regular order, this is it.”
Conservatives such as Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican running for president, and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling say the bank handed out “corporate welfare” to large corporations that don’t need it.
The favorite to succeed Mr. Boehner, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California, also opposes the bank.
Mr. Boehner himself hasn’t taken sides in the fight, although he pledged to allow Mr. Hensarling to amend any bill that comes to the floor.
Members said Mr. Hensarling had a chance to speak against the bank during Tuesday’s closed-door party meeting.
“He made his feelings known,” Mr. Kinzinger said. “I respect him, I respect his position, but there’s some pretty serious disagreement here.”
To get around the bank’s prominent opponents, Republican Rep. Stephen Fincher of Tennessee filed a discharge petition that will require signatures from 218 lawmakers to put it on the floor.
Though the tactic is rarely used, top House Democrats have said they will happily sign onto the bid if the GOP side can make up the difference.
The Senate voted in July to reauthorized Ex-Im’s charter as part of a six-year highway bill, but the House decided to pursue its own path to long-term roads funding.
The political arm of the Heritage Foundation and other conservative groups have urged GOP leadership to stand tall against any more bids to revive the bank, saying large corporations are using Ex-Im’s demise as a scapegoat for layoffs or decisions to send jobs overseas.
Yet some of the bank’s supporters say their districts are home to smaller companies that help supply parts to larger companies targeted by the bank’s opponents, and that they will suffer unless Ex-Im comes back.
“I don’t have GE specifically, or Boeing, specifically, which are the ones that get all the attention,” Mr. Kinzinger said. “I have a lot of suppliers to Cat [construction], to GE, to Boeing, to some of the big groups that are affected by this.”
He said the discharge petition will be an uphill battle, yet supporters feel they are “in a good position.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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