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An ecstatic Fred P. Hochberg, chairman and president of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, has announced that the bank is back in business.
Closed on June 30 when its charter expired, the 81-year-old institution was accused by some of being a “crony capitalism slush fund” mainly supporting the country’s largest corporates, while Mr. Hochberg defended it as a job creator — having supported more than 1.3 million American jobs during his six years of leadership.
He also claimed that it generated more than $2 billion in surplus revenue for U.S. taxpayers while increasing its focus on small business exporters.
Despite its critics, the bank was reauthorized on Dec. 4 with strong bipartisan support — a vote of 359 to 65 in the U.S. House and 83 to 16 in the U.S. Senate — for extending its charter through Sept. 30, 2019. President Obama immediately signed the bill into law.
The bank’s lending hands remain tied, however, because only two of the five board of directors’ seats are filled. All transactions totaling more than $10 million will have to await approval by the Senate of more directors to create a quorum.
U.S. senators, Johnny Isakson and David Perdue of Georgia, split their votes on the “Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act” to which the EXIM reauthorization was tacked with Mr. Isakson voting for and Mr. Perdue against.
Twelve of Georgia’s 13 U.S. representatives voted in favor of the act. Only Jody Hice of Georgia’s 10th District voted against.