Webber: Ex-Im Bank helps minority businesses succeed

As our nation reckons with the powerful questions about fairness and race, we should not forget that true equality means economic opportunity. Many remember Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington but forget it was titled “A March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.” As Dr. King explained: “We call our demonstration a campaign for jobs and income because we feel that the economic question is the most crucial.”

Today, there are many paths to improving opportunities for people of color and all our neighbors. When I started my business six years ago, support from the USC/Columbia Technology Incubator and the Department of Commerce was crucial. There are dozens of such programs helping entrepreneurs build an economy that reflects the diversity of our state.

Unfortunately, one of the most important such programs is shut down due to Washington politics. It’s the Export-Import Bank, which offers financing and insurance to help American businesses sell products overseas.

Last year, it helped U.S. businesses close $38 billion in sales abroad, supporting 165,000 U.S. jobs. It’s a vital link to our manufacturing economy, supporting such big items as 787 Dreamliners built at Boeing’s Charleston plant and smaller ones such as the nutritional products my company exports.

Less known is Ex-Im’s vital role in supporting women- and minority-owned businesses. One in five bank transactions now involves these businesses, helping diverse entrepreneurs break into the export business; with more than 95 percent of potential new customers located outside the United States, cracking into exports gives any business a crucial leg up.

This powerful commitment to helping all Americans succeed is government at its best.

Why did Congress allow the bank to lapse without even taking a vote? Unfortunately, a small group of tea party leaders decided to make some kind of anti-government statement. But what sense does it make to shut down one of our government’s most successful jobs programs? Especially when it doesn’t cost the taxpayers any money; Ex-Im pays the costs of its operations out of fees and interest on its services and last year actually ran a $675 million surplus.

When Congress returns from its August vacation, it must renew the Ex-Im Bank so it can carry on its vital mission — growing business and helping equalize opportunity in our state.

This story was originally published September 7, 2015 at 12:00 PM.