House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) says the majority of Republicans on his panel oppose reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank.
Hensarling spoke following remarks Thursday from Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), who said he is concerned that “there are thousands of jobs on the line that would disappear pretty quickly if the Ex-Im Bank were to disappear.”
“As of today, a majority of Republican members on the House Financial Services Committee do not support the reauthorization of the Ex-Im Bank,” Hensarling said.
He signaled reluctance to bring up legislation renewing the bank’s charter, given the views of controlling party’s members on the panel.
“I know neither of a Republican or a Democrat chairman of the House Financial Services Committee that has ever put forth a bill that was not supported by a majority of the majority,” he said.
Republicans are deeply divided about what to do with the bank, which Tea Partyers say hurts tax payers and is form of “cronyism” and “corporate welfare.”
Democrats and other Republicans say that the bank helps sustain U.S. jobs. The bank shuts down on June 30 unless lawmakers act. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has said that he will have a vote on the bank despite his own personal opposition to it.
While Hensarling’s panel has jurisdiction over the bank, House GOP leaders could bypass the committee and bring reauthorization legislation up on the House floor.