Hensarling, Waters Tee Off Again on Ex-Im Bank Merits as Expiration Looms
The congressional fight over reauthorization of the Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank is poised to continue in the coming weeks, as the House Financial Services Committee leadership again traded jabs on May 20 on the merits of the bank. The Ex-Im Bank’s charter will expire at the end of the current fiscal year on Sept. 30. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, said in a speech at the Heritage Foundation the bank’s loans most significantly benefit the largest multinational corporations, including General Electric, Ford and Boeing.
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“Sixty percent of Ex-Im’s financing benefited just 10 big corporations last year. Roughly half of the Bank’s book of business supports Boeing’s aircraft exports alone, earning the Bank its common nickname -- “the Bank of Boeing,” said Hensarling (here). “These multi-billion dollar companies would do just fine without the Ex-Im Bank’s corporate welfare.” The vast majority of the bank’s transactions involve providing export opportunities for small and medium sized enterprises, claim proponents of the bank, while typically declining to mention transaction volume figures.
Congress has renewed the bank 15 times with minimal controversy, said Committee ranking member Maxine Waters, D-Calif., in response to Hensarling’s comments. “According to the Bank, last year nearly 90 percent of total transactions went to a record number of small businesses,” said Waters (here). “The Bank doesn’t cost taxpayers a dime and in 2013 generated a record profit for taxpayers of more than $1 billion. The uncertainty surrounding the Bank’s September 30 expiration is already costing American businesses winnable contracts to foreign competitors.” The Senate Banking Committee is currently working to introduce renewal legislation (see 14050933).