US senators seek $70 billion boost for critical minerals

Washington: Senators will introduce legislation on Wednesday to reauthorize funding for the United States Export-Import Bank for the next decade, as lawmakers seek to inject an additional $70 billion into the agency to support U.S. President Donald Trump's critical minerals push, the Financial Times reported.

Republican Senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota is co-sponsoring the reauthorization bill with Democratic Senator Mark Warner, the report said. Cramer told the FT Trump was "all in" on funding the Ex-Im Bank and that the president "sees the value" of the institution.

Cramer also said he would advocate raising Ex-Im's lending cap to $205 billion from $135 billion as part of the package.


"The Export-Import Bank makes some un-doable deals doable. I think the president, as a matter of business acumen, understands that," he told the newspaper.