Obama: ‘I’m confident’ Ex-Im bank will survive

President Obama told business leaders Tuesday he’s “confident” Congress will eventually reauthorize the Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank, after its charter expires at midnight Tuesday.
 
“This is part of our trade agenda,” Obama said on a conference call, according to audio obtained by The Hill. “It’s an absolute mistake for us not to have already renewed it. But we’re going to do everything we can to make sure that we push now to get the Ex-Im Bank renewed. … I’m confident we can find a path to reauthorize Ex-Im.”
 
Tea Party critics have effectively blocked Congress from extending the bank’s charter. They say that the bank only finances big businesses like Boeing and General Electric and therefore picks winners and losers in the marketplace.
 
Obama defended the bank during his remarks.
 
“The notion that this somehow only benefits big companies is wrong,” Obama said. “This helps small- and medium-sized businesses — and by the way, big companies like Boeing or G.E. have a whole lot of small and medium sized businesses who are suppliers of theirs.”