March 20, 2012

Washington, D.C. – Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid released the following statement after Republicans rejected a bipartisan amendment to add the Export-Import Bank reauthorization to a bipartisan small business bill:

“Today, Republicans voted against an overwhelmingly bipartisan measure that would have supported more than 300,000 American jobs simply to provide cover for Tea Party extremists in the House. Once again, Republicans are manufacturing a fight instead of working with Democrats on bipartisan solutions to create jobs. Reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank is something that has always been done on a broad, bipartisan basis. Yet like so many other common-sense measures that used to pass without a fight, Republicans have turned this bipartisan bill into a partisan political battle.

“Republicans must now explain to the American people why they decided that the marching orders they received from their extremist Tea Party allies are more important than the jobs of hard-working Americans across the country.”

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