Reuters reports that a bipartisan deal to keep the U.S. Export-Import Bank operating past the end of May appears to be in reach.
The government-backed loans and credit guarantees the Export-Import Bank has been providing U.S. companies for nearly 80 years are playing an increasingly common role in the foreign sales of all manner of aerospace products, including satellites.
Without congressional action, the bank’s charter will expire May 31, but U.S. companies — Boeing and many other aerospace firms among them — are worried that the bank could exceed its $100 billion lending limit before then, jeopardizing overseas deals.
Some conservative Republicans have opposed the Export-Import Bank, saying it is unnecessary government interference in the market.
“I am feeling more and more confident that this ill-advised effort to block the Eximbank has run its course and is about to run out of gas,” Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said during a hearing on the bank’s future. “I think we can have a deal sooner rather than later.”
