Export-Import Bank Faces Danger from All Sides - Politico

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Conservatives may be headlining the opposition to the Export-Import Bank, but the efforts of coal-friendly Democrats to change the little-known agency's rules could further jeopardize its future.

Two competing proposals would reform the U.S. export credit agency as part of a reauthorization deal, but they have been stymied by party infighting and leaders' procedural disputes.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is set to introduce legislation that would extend the 80-year-old bank's charter for five years, raise its lending cap and provide one major reform: a coal provision that could attract Republicans but has infuriated the left.

Rep. John Campbell(R-Calif.), meanwhile, has floated a draft bill that would diminish the agency's role, hitting what he called the "sweet spot" between warring anti-establishment and corporate-backed Republicans. But there's still not much of an indication that key House Republican leaders are willing to consider any reauthorization at all, and if they do, they'll most likely insist on only a short-term measure.

The skirmishes on the left and the right underscore the growing political divisions that have emerged over a bank few Americans had even heard of only several weeks ago. With Ex-Im's charter set to expire at the end of September, its supporters are struggling to narrow the opinion gap between businesses that rely on its financing for sales in risky foreign markets and tea party conservatives who see the bank's loan, guarantee and insurance programs as a distortion of the free market and a form of corporate welfare.

With the government's funding also due to expire after Sept. 30, Democrats have said they could raise the stakes by linking the bank's reauthorization to a stopgap spending measure that would avert another shutdown.

The tone of the debate also could change come August, when Congress takes its five-week summer recess. Lawmakers are likely to face heavy pressure from local businesses that rely on Ex-Im's financing during the break, when campaigning reaches a fever pitch. Some Democrats see the opposition from conservatives as an opportunity to raise money that typically goes to the GOP.

Governors have also jumped into the Ex-Im fray. Earlier this month, 31 of them sent a letter to congressional leaders in support of the bank's renewal, and five more followed that with letters of their own.

Conservative groups like Club for Growth, Heritage Action and Americans for Prosperity, however, have become only more entrenched, seeing the bank's expiration as a winnable policy goal just weeks ahead of November's midterm elections.

Any concessions to either side of the GOP's camp could rile up the left, but finding some middle ground will be critical if the bank is to survive, some lawmakers said.

"A reauthorization with reforms, in my view, is the only thing actually that could get 218 votes and pass the House floor," Campbellsaid.

The dissension in the House means the Senate will probably be the first to act on a bill, possibly before the August recess, Sen. Maria Cantwell said.

The Washington Democrat, who is leading her party's effort to extend the bank's charter, said Democratic leaders are talking with Republicans over how to proceed on the floor with a bill, including how many amendments each party could offer -- often a tricky task.

But a bigger problem is "dealing with the House, which wants to just do a short-term extension," Cantwell said, adding that that's something Democrats don't like.

However, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said Democrats were determined enough to keep the bank open that they would be willing to accept a short-term renewal or insist it be part of a continuing resolution to keep the government funded past September.

Manchin, for his part, hasn't even introduced his bill, but already one of its proposed provisions is roiling the left.

The West Virginia Democrat's measure would extend Ex-Im's charter for five years and lift its lending authority from $130 billion to $160 billion. But it would also roll back a rule Ex-Im put in place last year that bars assistance to environmentally "dirty" projects.

That provision helped attract four Republican co-sponsors: Sens. Mark Kirk of Illinois, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Roy Blunt of Missouri and Mike Johanns of Nebraska. But it has also drawn the ire of environmental groups and liberal Democrats like Sen. Barbara Boxer of California, leaving Manchin at risk of losing support from within his own party.

Other Democrats said they don't have a problem with Manchin's pro-coal provision, although they said they fear it could open the door to a raft of reform proposals that could slow any renewal down.

"I'm concerned about starting to add things and conditions, and making it more complicated and bogging it down that way," said Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio). "I don't particularly object to Manchin's efforts, but I think that sets us down a path we may not want to go."

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