Small & Minority Business

This modest increase – the first since 2006 – will also help us avoid a more substantial rise in rates in the future and prevent a potential disruption in financial markets. Although risks from the global economy continue to persist, this is a measured and pragmatic response to our nation's current economic standing. Read more

by Peter SchroederThe financial industry is eyeing a must-pass government funding bill as a way to stymie administration efforts to impose contentious new rules on the sector.As lawmakers work to craft an omnibus funding bill before a Dec. 11 deadline, the industry is pushing to include an amendment that could halt, or at least slow down, a reviled rule imposing a “fiduciary duty” on retirement investment advisers.The Obama administration has thrown its weight behind the Labor Department initiat... Read more

by Vicki NeedhamFour top House Democrats are urging their colleagues to oppose any amendments to a highway bill that would damage efforts to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank.House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (Md.), House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Maxine Waters (Calif.) and Reps. Gwen Moore (Wis.) and Denny Heck (Wash.) sent a letter to the House Democratic Caucus on Monday, calling on the group to oppose the two-dozen amendments aimed at stopping a renewal of the Ex-Im Bank's... Read more

Today's House vote to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank is a major victory for American workers. This important bipartisan vote signifies that both Republicans and Democrats understand the value this vital federal agency adds to our collective effort to bolster and grow our economy. I'd like to thank my Republican colleagues who broke with the extreme wing of their party and joined us to pass this critical legislation. Read more

by Alex BrownIt took a historic procedural move to get the House to vote on the Export-Import Bank, a process that moved closer to reality with Monday night’s motion to set up a floor vote Tuesday. Getting the bank actually reauthorized may take a more typical Washington maneuver: tying it to must-pass legislation as Con­gress rushes to meet a flurry of late-year deadlines.Even as bank allies celebrate the rare success of their discharge petition, which forced the House vote on Ex­port-Im­port, ... Read more

by Paul Singer, Nathan Bomey and Paul DavidsonWASHINGTON — The House launched a rare effort Monday to circumvent Republican leadership in hopes of reviving the Export-Import Bank, which conservatives managed to choke off earlier this year.The procedure, known as a "discharge petition," basically allows a simple majority of the House to force the House to vote to extend the bank's charter. In the Monday vote, 62 Republicans joined 184 Democrats to exceed the 218 votes needed to force the bill to ... Read more

by Russell BermanIt has taken nearly five years and the resignation of a speaker, but moderate Republicans in the House have taken their most aggressive step to undermine the influence of hard-right conservatives in the party.A group of more than 50 GOP lawmakers joined nearly the entire Democratic caucus to force a vote on legislation reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank, the 80-year-old federal lending agency that shuttered when Republican leaders refused to renew its charter. The bipartisan c... Read more

by Jim PuzzangheraA bipartisan group of House lawmakers joined Friday to force a vote in the coming weeks to reopen the Export-Import Bank, whose charter expired this summer because of opposition from key congressional leaders.The move is a victory for supporters of the 81-year-old bank, which helps U.S. companies export their goods.But even if a reauthorization bill passes the House, expected as early as Oct. 26, its fate in the Senate remains unclear.Still, House members who have been working ... Read more

It's time for House Republicans to end their political infighting and focus on supporting our country's economic well-being. I urge them to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank as soon as possible to prevent further unnecessary damage to our collective financial future. Read more

By Rebecca ShabadRep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.) is introducing legislation that would assist small businesses that sell their products abroad. The measure would instruct the Export-Import Bank to increase the amount of financing it provides to small business from 20 to 25 percent. “It would help create jobs, stimulate our economy and allow businesses to better compete in foreign markets across the globe,” said Meng, a member of the House Small Business Committee, in a statement Tuesday. Rep. Maxine Wa... Read more