The United States House of Representatives voted last night to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank of the United States. The agency has been in limbo since July when its charter expired and the Congress refused to renew it.

The vote in the House was 313-118 with 127 Republicans and the entire Democratic caucus voting in favor.

U.S. businesses were elated by the development but the struggle to reauthorize EXIM is by no means over. The Senate must consider the measure and the majority leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R.-Kentucky) is reported as refusing to bring the bill to floor unless it is attached to the transportation funding bill. That would complicate matters from a legislative standpoint. House Democrats wants the senate to vote on EXIM as a standalone bill

“We applaud the U.S. House of Representatives for overwhelmingly passing legislation which reauthorizes and reforms the U.S. Export-Import Bank,” said a statement from General Electric. “We hope the House and Senate come together quickly and deliver this long overdue legislation to the president’s desk.”

“We commend the House’s bipartisan passage of a multi-year reauthorization of the Ex-Im Bank, which plays a critical role in supporting the US economy and American jobs,” said John Engler, president of the Business Roundtable. “Since Congress allowed the Bank’s authority to lapse in July, U.S. companies, large and small, have not been able to compete on a level playing field with foreign competitors.”

But Representative Jeb Hensarling, (R-Texas), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, and an opponent of EXIM, warns proponents not to celebrate prematurely.

The House “vote does not reopen the corporate welfare spigot at Ex-Im,” he said. “Ex-Im’s charter remains expired and Senate leaders have already made it clear the Senate will not take up this bill.

“Ex-Im is a part of yesterday’s economy,” he added. “Our focus needs to be on tomorrow’s economy and on reforms that will give every American greater opportunities to succeed.”