Congratulations! Thanks to your persistent efforts over a sustained period of time, the Export-Import Bank of the U.S. (Ex-Im Bank) was reauthorized on Friday, December 4. Garnering a strong bipartisan House vote of 359-65 and a Senate vote of 83-16, the “Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act” extends the Bank’s charter through September 30, 2019.
Your work has paid off. American companies once again have crucial tools to compete overseas. Your Member of Congress heard you and overwhelmingly voted to support you and your businesses. Please take a moment to thank your Member of Congress for their support. A template thank you note can be found here.
As reported by Ex-Im Bank Chairman Fred Hochberg: “All of us at EXIM are ready to receive applications for new transactions. Given the expected volume, the efforts required to get our processes back up and running, and the need to apply our comprehensive due diligence requirements to every transaction, we are asking customers and other EXIM stakeholders to be patient while we resume authorized activities. We expect online application systems and exim.gov to be fully operational no later than Tuesday, December 8, and customers can always reach us at 1-800-565-EXIM.”
Note that only two of the five seats on Ex-Im’s Board are currently filled, meaning there is not a board quorum to approve loans greater than $10 million. Each member of the Ex-Im Board is nominated by the White House for consideration by the Senate. The U.S. Chamber continues to work with the Administration and the Senate on this important matter.
Thanks again for your continued support and we look forward to working with you in 2016!
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