On Thursday, December 3, Congress passed legislation that would reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank through September 30, 2019. Ex-Im reauthorization was included in the Highway Trust Fund legislation, which passed the Senate by a vote of 83-16 and the House by a vote of 359-65. This legislation will now go to the President, who is expected to sign it into law. Highway funding was set to expire on December 4, and the Ex-Im Bank authority had previously lapsed on June 30.
The Export-Import Bank is vital in assisting U.S. companies to compete in the global market, creating jobs across the U.S. Many U.S. companies, especially small businesses, leverage Ex-Im to engage in business opportunities all over the world. Without Ex-Im support, companies would have been forced to leave the negotiating table and yield big-ticket contracts to foreign competitors.
CompTIA has continually supported re-authorization of the Ex-Im Bank, and we applaud the persistent work of Congress to restore authorization of Ex-Im.