The consequences of the congressional Republican crusade against the Export-Import Bank have arrived as Boeing is preparing to lay off hundreds of employees at a factory that produces satellites.
Boeing said the cuts were needed after a customer could not get financing through the Export-Import Bank and canceled an order for a pricey satellite. [...]
[Boeing spokeswoman Linda Taira] said that Bermuda-based ABS, a global satellite operator, had recently canceled an order for one of Boeing's new electric-powered satellites because of its inability to finance the purchase through the Export-Import Bank.
"Many of Boeing's international customers rely on Ex-Im Bank financing to purchase commercial satellites and airplanes," she said.
As you may recall, House Republicans flat out refused to renew the Export-Import Bank while Senate Republicans refused to authorize it as part of a bill to fund the nation's highway system.
In either case, Republicans effectively killed a bank that helps American companies export goods.
American taxpayers do not actually fund the bank's activities which are paid for through the fees it collects, but that didn't stop Republicans from claiming it's some sort of big government boondoggle or bridge to nowhere.
Congressional Republicans weren't swayed by the word of the Chamber of Commerce which supported the bank's renewal.