To those who despair of Washington "gridlock," take heart.  President Obama signed the Export-Import Bank reauthorization into law on Wednesday. The legislation, H.R. 2072, passed the U.S. House and Senate by wide, bipartisan margins. See, action IS possible!

The legislation reflected Business Roundtable's priorities: The Ex-Im Bank is reauthorized for thee years, avoiding the continuation of short-term reauthorizations that have complicated negotiation of the oversea sales supported by the bank. The bill also raises the current loan cap from $100 billion to a potential $140 billion if certain conditions are met.

Among those attending the bill-signing ceremony was Andrew Liveris, President, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Dow Chemical Company and vice chairman of Business Roundtable. Liveris serves on the President's Export Council. (That's him standing to the immediate left of House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland)

• Remarks by the President at Export-Import Bank Bill Signing
• Video of bill-signing ceremony
• White House blog post
• Export-Import Bank news release, "President Obama Signs Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act into Law"
• Associated Press, "Obama signs Export-Import Bank renewal amid business support, conservative wariness"

Reuters, "U.S. Ex-Im bill signing lifts 'cloud' over business":

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. exporters that use government financing for overseas sales can plan with more certainty after President Barack Obama signs legislation on Wednesday to renew the U.S. Export-Import Bank's charter, the bank's president said.

"This just takes away a big cloud of doubt for a lot of American businesses," Ex-Im Bank President Fred Hochberg said in an interview, adding that the bank's board of directors will be considering "north of $6.5 billion" of financing deals on Wednesday and Thursday.

One of the financing agreements reached Wednesday as Hochberg predicted: a $90 million loan guarantee for XCoal Energy & Resources to support its coal exports to Japan, China and South Korea.