By Alex Wilts and Krista Hughes
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats warned on Tuesday U.S. businesses face a "huge disruption" if the Export-Import Bank partially shuts down at the end of the month, putting new trade finance deals on ice.
The U.S. Congress has no plans to hold a vote on extending the charter of the U.S. export credit agency before going on a week-long break, meaning it is likely to expire on June 30.
Although the bank is funded through September, Democrat Heidi Heitkamp said, allowing the bank's charter to expire would stall $11 billion in credit in Ex-Im's pipeline and create a "huge disruption" for businesses across the country.
"They cannot do any new credits during the time that the charter is expired," she said.
Democrats have pushed for the bank, which provides support to U.S. exporters and the buyers of U.S. goods such as aircraft made by Boeing Co (N:BA), to be kept open in the face of a concerted conservative campaign to close it down.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said a highway bill that is scheduled to come for debate in July was a "pretty obvious" place to attach an extension for Ex-Im.
But the Republican chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, James Inhofe, said he would oppose his own highway bill if Ex-Im legislation were attached to it.
"I'm going to do all I can to keep it from happening," said Inhofe, one of 31 senators to oppose Ex-Im in a test vote earlier this month. Sixty-five supported it, suggesting a Senate vote to reauthorize the bank would succeed.
House Democratic whip Steny Hoyer said closing Ex-Im would cost jobs and noted the House also had enough support to pass an extension of Ex-Im's charter.
Critics say the bank picks winners and losers and hurts U.S. companies that compete with foreign companies that receive financing from Ex-Im, such as Delta Airlines Inc (N:DAL).