Newly appointed Aerospace Industries Association chief Dave Melcher joined Huntington Ingalls Industries president and CEO Mike Petters this week in urging support for reauthorization of the U.S. Export-Import Bank. Melcher, who succeeded Marion Blakey as AIA CEO this month, penned an op-ed piece with Petters in the political insider publication The Hill, saying reauthorization will provide a level field for U.S. companies that compete against subsidized foreign companies.

The opinion piece comes as Congress has a week left to act before the bank’s authorization lapses. Reauthorization has faced strong opposition from certain Republican lawmakers, including House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas). But a procedural vote in the Senate this month revealed that 65 Senators favored reauthorization, more than enough to overcome a filibuster. Ex-Im and lawmakers have expressed doubt that Congress will complete a full reauthorization before the current authorization expires June 30.

GE chairman Jeffrey Immelt warned last week that if reauthorization lapses, “We are not going to lose this business. We will build these products in places where export credit financing is available because we have to.” Ex-Im chairman Fred Hochberg, meanwhile, told the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers last week that if reauthorization lapses, China would be among those filling the void. “You can bet they’ll be continuing to put their foot on the gas,” he said, pointing to a China export finance agency that doubled its activity last year and expects another doubling over the next couple of years.