Nebraska Congressman Brad Ashford says reauthorization of the Export-Import bank is critical to jobs and trade.
Ashford was joined Wednesday in Omaha by Maryland Congressman Steny Hoyer for a roundtable discussion about jobs. The Export-Import bank provides loan support for American businesses to sell their products to overseas markets. The bank’s authorization to do so ended Tuesday.
Ashford says last year, $855 million worth of Nebraska goods were purchased thanks to the Export-Import Bank.
"In Nebraska, the Import-Export Bank is a key element in our trade, our ability to trade with the world, in our ability to create jobs that are good-paying jobs. Most export jobs in Nebraska pay 18 to 20 percent than normal jobs in our economy, and we need to encourage those."
Congressman Hoyer says the Export-Import bank has bipartisan support, and he expects it’ll be reauthorized when Congress comes back to session later this month. Hoyer says without reauthorization, the U.S. is less competitive.