Club for Growth opposes Hochberg nomination

by Vicki Needham - 04/04/13 5:06 PM ET

Hochberg, who has held the position since May 2009 and also serves on the President’s Export Council, led the agency through the tough reauthorization fight last year.

Nearly a year ago, President Obama signed legislation to renew the bank’s charter for three years and raise the limit on the total financing the bank can guarantee, to $140 billion from $100 billion.

{mosads}The reauthorization bill got broad support in the House and Senate last year.

The bank, created in 1934, provides loan guarantees to foreign companies that want to do business with U.S. exporters.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) has said his committee would take up the nomination in a “timely manner.”

Hochberg’s nomination has gotten nods from groups such as the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM).

Last year, the bank provided more than $35.7 billion in financing.

Jay Timmons, NAM’s president and CEO, credited Hochberg for extending the bank’s outreach to small- and medium-sized manufacturers, helping them reach distant markets and, in turn, create jobs.

Small-business financing increased more than 70 percent to $3.3 billion between 2008 and 2012, according to the bank.

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