WASHINGTON D.C. (WHBL) - The U.S. House approved Tuesday to reauthorize and reform the Export-Import Bank, which has been non-existent for the past few months.
The 313 to 118 vote saw all three of Wisconsin’s Democrat members vote for it, as well as two of the five Republican members. One was area Congressman Glenn Grothman.
In a statement, Grothman said he did not support how the bill came to the full floor, bypassing a committee head recommendation. However, he notes the bank has returned over seven-billion dollars to the U.S. Treasury over the past 20 years.
Grothman adds corporations that use the bank will help local manufacturers, a key economic sector in our area, keep business with them. Also, he says the United States cannot continue to see its trade deficit grow if the bank can help continue business with foreign counties like China, Germany and India.
The bill now heads to the Senate, where is has the strong support of Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin. She was very vocal in renewing the bank when it up for a vote this summer before it ended.
The ending of the bank was cited as part of the reason why General Electric decided to move production from a plant in Waukesha to a new plant being built in Canada.