OKLAHOMA: Oklahoma business leaders, in town for the State Chamber’s annual visit, heard predictions from the state’s lawmakers about upcoming policy and political battles. There was interest among the business men and women in the Capitol Hill room about economic matters important to the state lifting the ban on crude oil exports. The lesser prairie chicken’s status under the Endangered Species Act and the extension of the Export-Import Bank to help companies like Boeing compete worldwide.
But they also wanted to talk about the presidential race and, even, the difference between serving in the House and Senate. “I was told when I was leaving the House there were afternoon nap times” in the Senate, said freshman Sen. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma City. “I haven’t seen that yet.”Two of the delegation’s most senior members told the business leaders they support the Export-Import Bank as a tool for helping farmers and manufacturers.
The bank, an independent agency that helps finance U.S. exports, has been out of operation since July because Congress did not renew it.Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Cheyenne, said the House would support the bank’s continued operation if there were an open vote. He predicted the bank would be reauthorized, though he couldn’t say when or how many jobs would be lost before it was back in business.Rep. Tom Cole, R-Moore, said a group of Republicans had turned the bank’s continued operations into a showdown over so-called crony capitalism.
