For months, the Export-Import Bank of the U.S. has been unable to vote on large new loans because its board is one member short of a quorum, putting on hold $20 billion in potential aid for U.S. sales overseas. Engineering firms and other Ex-Im supporters back legislation to clear the logjam, but the measures are by no means assured of passage.
Ex-Im’s board must have at least three members in order to vote on loans above $10 million. But the bank’s authorization lapsed in June 2015. By the time Congress reauthorized Ex-Im last December, its board had just two members. In January, President Obama sent an Ex-Im nomination to the Senate, but Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) has declined to hold a hearing.