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 Ex-Im can no longer seek or process new applications for loans,
loan guarantees and trade insurance, but it has said it will stay
open to continue servicing $112 billion in existing obligations. The
agency's operating budget has been approved through Sept. 30.
The suspension of Ex-Im's new business operations on Wednesday
marked a partial victory for conservatives campaigning to close the
bank, which they say promotes "crony capitalism" and interferes in
free markets by subsidizing large, politically connected companies.
But Democrats and moderate Republicans hope to revive the trade bank
later this month by attaching charter renewal legislation to a
"must-pass" highway and rail transit funding bill.
The Republican senators, including presidential candidates Marco
Rubio, Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, said in a letter to Ex-Im Chairman
Fred Hochberg that under law, Ex-Im should only now exist to
liquidate itself.
"Given the unique nature of your agency’s termination, we write to
request clarity on your plan for an orderly liquidation," they
wrote, requesting a timeline, details on which employees will
processing the liquidation and justifications for keeping others
employed.
The letter, also signed by Republican senators Pat Toomey, Mike Lee
and Ben Sasse, also requested a report on the dissolution of the Ex-Im
board of directors, details on the shutdown of the Ex-Im website and
the return of the bank's properties to the General Services
Administration, including its Washington headquarters building one
block from the White House.
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They also requested information on which agency would be deemed to
succeed Ex-Im to assume and service its remaining loans and other
obligations.
A spokesman for Ex-Im did not immediately respond to queries about
the letter.
If the Senate passes legislation to put Ex-Im back in business,
House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said he would bring it
to the floor for a vote. But he would give opponents in that chamber
ample opportunity to attack it through amendments.
(Reporting By David Lawder; Editing by David Gregorio)
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