U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal and a New Hampshire colleague have introduced a bill that would reauthorize the federal Export-Import Bank.
Funding for the Ex-Im Bank, which guarantees export financing for foreign entities purchasing products from U.S. exporters, would expire June 30.
The agency has been embattled since last summer, when some Republicans targeted it as a benefit for big companies, including Fairfield’s General Electric, who don’t need the help.
Blumenthal and U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s Promoting U.S. Jobs Through Exports Act would extend funding for the bank through 2022 and increase its lending cap by $20 billion over that period, so long as its default rate remains below 2 percent.
Blumenthal said the bank has supported $2 billion in exports by more than 60 Connecticut companies over the past three years.
“Even if these businesses are not themselves exporters, they benefit from Ex-Im support when the products they manufacture are bought by larger exporters,” Blumenthal said in a statement.
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