Senate

Dems advise tying Ex-Im Bank to spending bill

by Jordain Carney - 09/16/15 12:11 PM ET

Senate Democrats suggested Wednesday that reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank could be tied to a government funding bill.

“If we don’t get this done and reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank, they’re going to eat our lunch,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar said. “That’s why my colleagues would like to reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank in the bills that we must pass to keep the government operating.”

{mosads}The Minnesota Democrat made the comment ahead of an end-of-the-month deadline to fund the government. Lawmakers are widely expected to pass a short-term bill, though Democrats have slammed Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for refusing to negotiate a budget deal.

House Democrats on Tuesday urged McConnell and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to reauthorize the bank’s charter, which expired at the end of June, either through a stand-alone bill or as part of must-pass legislation.

The Senate included a reauthorization of the bank in its long-term highway bill, but that legislation is currently tied up in conference committee with House lawmakers.

Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) suggested that allowing the bank’s charter to expire is hurting businesses, adding that Republicans need to “get this done.”

“We have to say to our colleagues with just a short period of time left before whatever this proposal is to shut down the government, which I certainly don’t support, that you either have to get this on the highway bill … or come up with another vehicle that get this done,” she said.

Cantwell was at the center of a controversial deal allowing a vote on the Export-Import Bank in exchange for a handful on-the-fence Democrats backing a trade bill earlier this year.

Republican leadership in the House, as well as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), is opposed to reauthorizing the bank. Cruz, after McConnell teed up a vote on the bank, accused the Republican leader of lying about whether a deal had been reached.

While attaching the bank to a spending bill could complicate efforts to avoid a government shutdown, House Democrats say that bank has more than 275 votes in support.

Tags Amy Klobuchar Boehner John Boehner Maria Cantwell Mitch McConnell Ted Cruz