Sen. Jeff Merkley sent a letter to leaders of the U.S. Export-Import Bank on Tuesday morning admonishing them for approving a $4.7 billion loan to a liquefied natural gas project in Mozambique without notifying Congress.
Merkley, a Democrat from Oregon who sits on the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that oversees America’s export credit agency, said the lack of notification prevented Congress and the public from having input and oversight on a project “that will have grave human rights and climate impacts for decades.”
The Export-Import Bank, an independent federal agency known as Ex-Im that is authorized by Congress, offers financing to projects abroad that utilize U.S. goods and services. Trump administration officials and project proponents say the loan will support American jobs and economic competitiveness.
But environmental groups and some lawmakers have assailed the bank for continuing to invest in fossil fuel projects internationally. Friends of the Earth filed a lawsuit in July arguing that the loan was approved by an acting board installed by President Donald Trump that lacked a quorum and failed to consider environmental or security risks.
