
BCA CONTINUES TO PUSH FOR LONG-TERM REAUTHORIZATION OF THE EX-IM BANK
Earlier today, the Business Council of Alabama hosted a conference call with Erin Gulick, Senior Vice President for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs for the Export-Import Bank of the United States. The call highlighted the fact that Ex-Im financing helps thousands of U.S. small businesses, including many in Alabama, access foreign markets and to export American and Alabama-made products. A long-term reauthorization of the Ex-Im Bank would ensure continued growth and increased employment. BCA President and CEO William J. Canary ended the teleconference with a call to action directed at the Alabama companies that use the Bank, either directly or indirectly, to encourage both U.S. Sens. Richard Shelby and Jeff Sessions, as well as their members of Congress, long-term reauthorization of the Ex-Im Bank. "Our delegation must hear from you that a vote against the Ex-Im Bank is a vote against you, it is a vote against the jobs you provide, it is a vote against the United States, and it is a vote to send Alabama jobs overseas," Canary said. On Wednesday, the BCA joined 650 other organizations and businesses from 41 states, in Washington, D.C., to urge lawmakers to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank. The bank is a crucial component of job retention in Alabama and across the nation. Without Congressional action the bank's operational charter would end June 30 and stop a foreign trade financing tool for thousands of businesses in the U.S. that compete with businesses in other nations with government-backed export-import banking. The U.S. bank actually makes money for the Treasury while providing needed financing for foreign transactions. The Ex-Im Bank has returned about $7 billion to taxpayers in the last 20 years. And every state benefits from the bank, including Alabama. The BCA is part of a nationwide coalition of organizations and businesses that are for the Export-Import Bank. "Reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank is a crucial ingredient in the toolbox of dozens of Alabama businesses who employ at least 5,000 men and women in the business of exporting and importing," Canary said. The BCA's partners, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers, helped organize the meetings. Legislation has been introduced that would extend the bank's charter for five years. It includes significant reforms to show its financial disclosures. Democrats are working on a separate reauthorization bill that they will introduce this week.
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