The latest skirmish in the protracted power struggle within the Republican Party is being waged over a little-known federal agency tasked with helping U.S. companies sell products to foreign customers.
For 80 years, the Export-Import Bank has offered products, including loans and insurance, to U.S. companies hoping to break into new overseas markets. In Ohio, some 258 businesses benefited from the program between 2007 and 2014, and the bank has supported $2 billion worth of business.
“It’s an important tool for Ohio companies to maintain global competitiveness,” said Jeff Hoagland, president and CEO of the Dayton Development Coalition. Hoagland said the Export-Import Bank has assisted in more than $100 million in foreign sales by Dayton area companies.
But the bank is endangered unless Congress reauthorizes it by Sept. 30. A coalition of conservative groups that includes Heritage Action for America, Americans for Prosperity and Club for Growth is urging Congress to cancel the bank’s charter, saying the agency is a perfect example of “crony capitalism” and “corporate welfare.”
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