Ex-Im Bank Proponents, Critics Spar Over Reauthorization
The reauthorization of the Export-Import bank charter is necessary in order to stay competitive with Brazilian and Chinese state credit agencies that provide nearly half of all official export financing, said former Sens. George Allen and Blanche Lincoln in a May 5 National Association of Manufacturers blog post. The bank will also provide a critical mechanism to revitalize the sluggish U.S. economy, said the former lawmakers, while dismissing the common criticism that the credit agency meddles with the free market.
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“If a business wants to work with the Ex-Im Bank, they must pay a fee, and foreign customers pay their loans back with interest. As a result, the agency not only pays for itself, but generates a profit to taxpayers,” said the blog post (here). “Last year alone, the Ex-Im Bank sent $1 billion in surplus funds to the U.S. Treasury and bolstered more than 205,000 American jobs … the kind of jobs politicians always say they care about.” Democratic House members have championed lately the bank's renewal (see 14042427). House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, a staunch critic of the bank, recently signaled he would hold a hearing on reauthorization legislation (see 14042903).
But a number of industry officials echoed criticisms of the bank during a May 5 press conference on Capitol Hill, led by Americans for Prosperity. The bank unfairly opens markets for primarily large businesses, said a number of industry officials. "The Export-Import Bank is a slush fund for political favors and a hugely distorting force within the marketplace,” said Americans for Tax Reform Cost of Government Center Executive Director Mattie Duppler, according to a press release. “This is an attempt to fight cronyism in other countries with our own."