On October 6th, the CompTIA Space Enterprise Council signed onto a multi trade association letter to the Hill, pushing for legislation that would help reauthorize the Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank. Other signatories included the Aerospace Industries Association, the Satellite Industry Association, and the Space Foundation.
As stated in the letter “since Ex-Im bank authority lapsed on June 30th, at least three U.S. commercial satellite orders have been withdrawn, other awards have been lost, and U.S. satellite manufacturers have been barred from some competitions entirely.
Industry efforts to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank took a step forward on Thursday when a sufficient number of House members signed a discharge position to move legislation, H.R. 597, out of the Financial Services Committee and onto the House floor for a vote. The vote could take place as early as October 26, the day the House returns from a week-long recess.
Three Republican Congressmen, Steve Fincher (Tennessee), Adam Kinzinger (Illinois) and Chris Collins (New York) filed the discharge petition on Thursday, a procedural step to discharge a bill from the committee of jurisdiction so it can be voted on by the House when the committee itself will not do so. Fincher is the sponsor of H.R. 597.
For more information on the Ex-Im letter, please contact David Logsdon dlogsdon@comptia.org
