WASHINGTON, May 15 (UPI) -- The U.S. Senate agreed Tuesday to extend the Export Import Bank's charter for two more years in a bipartisan 78-20 vote.
The House had passed the bill last month with significant support from Republicans.
The bill includes reforms initiated by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., and allows for an increase in the bank's loan-exposure cap, which has been stuck at $100 billion since 2001, Politico reported. The bank's portfolio may have run up against the cap by May 31 without congressional action, the report said.
The bill includes new rules intended to provide greater transparency for transactions of $100 million or more.
In a statement issued by the White House, President Barack Obama said he will sign the legislation. He said reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank "will help American businesses create jobs here at home and sell their products around the world -- all at no cost to taxpayers."
"Last year marked the highest level of financing in the Bank's 77-year history, as they supported thousands of U.S. companies, hundreds of thousands of jobs, and brought us closer to the goal I set of doubling our nation's exports by the end of 2014," Obama said. "Over the last several months, I've met with business leaders here in Washington, visited workers at companies like Boeing, and urged Congress to reauthorize the Bank to keep building on this progress. And I'm glad to see it get done."
Obama urged Congress to "keep going" by adopting what he has called "common-sense ideas that will help small businesses, reward companies that bring jobs back to America, invest in clean energy and veterans, and help responsible homeowners save money on their mortgages."
