More than 40 Republicans have signed a so-called discharge petition, a little-used technique used to force a vote on an issue against the wishes of party leadership. Amid that internal division, Lehigh Valley congressman Charlie Dent said supporters should show that factions within the chamber can come together to advance policies, not just block them. Signing of the petition began Friday.
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The 218 representatives, including 42 Republicans, who signed the so-called “discharge petition” – a procedural maneuver that has been successful only a handful of times in the past century – effectively overrules House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling.
The bank’s charter expired June 30, and it has been unable to approve new applications to help overseas buyers get financing to purchase US products like airplanes and heavy equipment. Logan Ramsey, a spokesman for Fincher, didn’t immediately return an e-mail seeking comment.
Nationally, the Export-Import Bank supported more than 164,000 private sector jobs in 2014, supporting $27.4 billion worth of USA exports. “Our constituents expect us to fight for them and get the job done, but Congress has failed to even hold a vote to reform and reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank”.
Michael Needham, chief executive officer for the conservative non-profit organization Heritage Action Fund – which opposes the bank – accused Boehner and “a few dozen GOP pawns” of corporate lobbyists of working with House Democrats to save the bank. Ex-Im supporters said the closure cost thousands of American manufacturing jobs. McCarthy on Thursday dropped his bid to succeed Boehner as speaker.
House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said “thanks to this discharge petition, the House is able to work its will, I am confident that it will join the Senate in expressing its overwhelming bipartisan support to reopen” the bank. But the majority party – the speaker, the leadership and the Rules Committee – controls what actually gets considered on the House floor.
Heck noted that the House bill is “exactly” like the Ex-Im measure introduced in the upper chamber by Sens.
Still, should the House opt to renew the bank, the Senate would then have the final say. The petition reached the 218 signatures needed to force a vote on reauthorization of Ex-Im this afternoon. The Senate approved a similar measure in July as part of a longer-term transportation bill, but this was never taken up by the House.
Even so, it’s by no means a done deal. Hensarling that a majority of Republicans on the financial services panel oppose the bank. Several companies have announced they have lost business because of the lapse in bank operations and are threatening to shutter plants if it isn’t revived.
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Should the measure pass the House as expected this month, it would go back to the Senate for passage before heading to President Barack Obama for his signature.
