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For years now, the U.S. Export-Import Bank -- an under-the-radar agency that provides subsidized loans to foreign firms willing to buy American products -- has tried to remain relevant. After a semi-hiatus alongside criticism for functioning as the "Bank of Boeing," Ex-Im convinced the Trump and Biden administrations that it may be a tremendous weapon to fight Chinese influence. While it can do no such thing, Ex-Im is now moving on to something else: extending its domestic influence. Ex-Im's grandiose claims shouldn't distract us from its mediocrity. In 2019, Congress handed the agency a seven-year reauthorization and restored a quorum...

Few in the odd coalition of Left and Right pushing for reauthorization of the 81-year-old Export-Import Bank have been louder than Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. “It’s wrong that candidates for president, who really should know better, are jumping on this bandwagon,” she said at a May 22 campaign stop in New Hampshire. “It’s wrong, it’s embarrassing. . . . The idea that we would remove this relatively small but vital source of funding for our businesses to compete is absolutely backwards.” Clinton’s defense of Ex-Im may be motivated by more than mere concern for American businesses. Critics have argued...

President Donald Trump on Friday picked former Republican Congressman Scott Garrett of Wantage to lead the U.S. Export-Import Bank, an institution Garrett has spoken out against. Garrett, who represented New Jersey's 5th District for seven terms, was defeated in November by Democrat Josh Gottheimer. During his time in Congress, at a town hall in Lafayette in May 2015, Garrett said he would favor doing away with the Export-Import Bank, which makes loans to companies doing business overseas. And at a congressional hearing in 2014, he said, "when you mix big corporations and taxpayer-backed guarantees, you get a little something that...

Are we sure that Trump’s going to end up having to fire Steve Bannon? Between this and the Syria bombing, the nationalists in the White House may just up and quit.If you think these broken promises are big news, wait until Trump comes out in favor of TPP. Mr. Trump said the reason he has changed his mind on one of his signature campaign promises is that China hasn’t been manipulating its currency for months and because taking the step now could jeopardize his talks with Beijing on confronting the threat of North Korea.“They’re not currency manipulators,” Mr. Trump said…Mr....

President Trump on Wednesday threw his support behind the Export-Import Bank, a stark reversal of his opposition to the lender during the 2016 presidential campaign. “It turns out that, first of all, lots of small companies are really helped, the vendor companies,” Trump said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. “But also, maybe more important, other countries give [assistance]. When other countries give it we lose a tremendous amount of business.” ADVERTISEMENT The president’s about-face is likely to anger conservative Republican critics of the bank, who say it has enabled crony capitalism. Many believed that with Trump in...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Scott Garrett (NJ-05) released the following statement in response to reports that Boeing has reached a multibillion-dollar deal to sell commercial passenger planes to Iran. Boeing is one of the largest beneficiaries of the Export-Import (Ex-Im) bank which perpetuates corporate welfare to mega corporations by handing out taxpayer-backed loans. "This agreement between Boeing and the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism is extremely troubling and shows that crony capitalism remains alive and well in Washington. Not only has Boeing lobbied for years to keep the taxpayer-backed Export Import bank alive, it now has also used its...

In his speech yesterday, following the Treasury's crack down on corporate tax inversions, Obama blamed "poorly designed" laws for allowing illicit money transfers worldwide. Since the speech came at a time when the entire world is still abuzz with the disclosure from the Panama Papers, Obama touched on that as well: "Tax avoidance is a big, global problem" he said on Tuesday, "a lot of it is legal, but that’s exactly the problem" because a lot of it is also illegal. There is one major problem with that: of all the countries in the world, it is none other than...

Here is a recurring frustration during election season: Candidates who seem attractive before the race begins suddenly sound squishier or change their positions once they hit the campaign trail.On the issue of cronyism, there is one noticeable exception during this year's campaign. In spite of what could be perceived as a political risk, one candidate has remained true to his opposition to (and his commitment to end) the terrible renewable-fuel standard, which requires blending ethanol and other biofuels into the gasoline supply, thereby driving food prices up and creating all sorts of distortions in the energy market: That's Senator Ted...

Ex-Im Bank board still lacks a quorum to approve multimillion dollar, taxpayer-backed loan guarantees for big business WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) yesterday voted against the $281 billion, five-year highway bill that reauthorizes the Export-Import Bank, a quintessential example of cronyism and corporate welfare. Using various budget gimmicks and one-time revenue raisers, this bill guarantees an even larger shortfall in 2020 when the next highway bill comes up. Sen. Cruz issued the following statement upon the bill’s passage in the Senate:“Last night, sadly, the Washington Cartel reversed one of the few fiscal conservative victories achieved with this...

The U.S. House on Thursday passed a five-year transportation bill that also revive(s) the charter of the U.S. Export-Import Bank, which had been allowed to expire in the face of conservative opposition. the House of Representatives voted 359 to 65. All 65 "no" votes came from Republicans, including lawmakers opposed to the EXIM bank measure. "It proves to the American people that we can get things done," said House Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Shuster, a Pennsylvania Republican.

The millions of dollars of corporate lobbying for reauthorization of the U.S. Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank seems to have finally paid off. Despite the fact that taxpayers won a victory when Congress allowed the beleaguered, corruption-laden bank to expire on June 30, a group of weak-willed Republicans, led by Rep. Stephen Fincher (R-Tenn.), joined with Democrats and used a little known and rarely used tool called a "discharge petition" to resurrect the Bank from the dead. The House of Representatives has abandoned common sense as Boeing's Bank may be coming back. The discharge petition circumvented the authority of the House Financial...

The real news in this story probably isn’t the subject of the Ex-Im Bank (which has some Republicans sneaking around with Democrats in an effort to reopen it) or even General Electric. This is a case study in how the media reports on relatively wonky subjects in an effort to bend public opinion in a progressive direction. In a very lengthy article at the New York Times we learn about the sad closing of yet another GE plant, this one located in Waukesha, Wisconsin. They manufacture huge industrial engines there which can sell for more than a million dollars.The...

Advocates of crony capitalism just won’t give up. Last Friday, a large block of House Republicans joined Democrats in signing a discharge petition to force revival of the Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) to the House floor. 42 Republicans joined 176 Democrats in signing on to the discharge petition, circumventing the authority of House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling – whose committee has rightfully opposed the bank as corporate welfare. Hensarling responded to the move by urging Republicans to consider the ramifications of setting a dangerous precedent in using the discharge petition and reminding members “Ex-Im supporters have so far failed...

Washington corrupts, and Congressman Stephen Fincher is proof... It would be an understatement to say Fincher has come to terms with boondoggles and special interests. Fincher, once an opponent of the Export-Import Bank —a federal agency that subsidizes foreign buyers of U.S.-made goods — now is trying to undermine his party's leadership by teaming up with Nancy Pelosi and her party in order to reauthorize Ex-Im Bank.... Fincher has raised a quarter-million for his re-election, according to his most recent campaign finance filing...... More than 99 percent of the money powering Fincher's re-election bid comes from political action committees (almost...

If Republicans aren’t already divided enough, several dozen party members have signed a petition that will force the House to vote on whether to revive a controversial government-run bank that helps big American companies sell goods overseas. Some 41 Republicans signed a so-called discharge petition in an effort to fully reopen the Export-Import Bank. They joined ranks with nearly all Democrats to meet the 218-vote threshold required to allow a bill to reach the House floor.

Conservative frustration over Republican efforts to force a House vote on reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank boiled over Wednesday during a contentious GOP meeting. Members of the conference’s conservative wing criticized Rep. Stephen Fincher (R-Tenn.) at the meeting for moving to file a discharge petition to bring a vote on legislation renewing the embattled bank’s charter for five years, after it lapsed June 30 because of Tea Party opposition. "A lot of people don't like that we're doing a discharge petition. You know what? I don't like it. I wish we could've done something in committee," Fincher said in an interview...

Supporters of the Export-Import Bank have secured enough Republican support to bring an extension of the agency's charter to the House floor later this month, according to sources involved in the whipping. More than 30 Republicans have signed on to a discharge petition, which would force a vote on reauthorizing the government-backed credit agency. Republicans expect upwards of a dozen more supporters. The vast majority of Democrats are expected to sign the petition. If the numbers hold, there is nothing the GOP leadership could do to stop a vote on an extension. A renewal of the bank's charter would likely...

When House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy headlined a fundraiser in early June the room was packed with defense industry lobbyists, but reps from one megacontractor were missing — Boeing. Not only was Boeing absent at that fundraiser, the contractor has cut off all political contributions to the No. 2 House Republican over his support for killing the Export-Import Bank, which facilitates billions of dollars in low-interest loans to U.S. exporters like Boeing. General Electric, also a major supporter of renewing Ex-Im and a benefactor of the agency, has followed suit and has not contributed to the California Republican this year....

Senate leadership colludes with Washington Cartel of big business and career politicians against the American taxpayer WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) today gave a powerful floor speech shining a light on the corrupt deal struck by Senate Republican leadership to allow the reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank.Some key quotes are below, followed by a complete transcript and of Sen. Cruz’s remarks. Video above.“There is a profound disappointment among the American people because we keep winning elections and then we keep getting leaders who don't do anything they promised...”“We've had a Republican majority in both houses of Congress now for about six months. What has that...

Senators voted to revive the Export-Import Bank on Monday, setting themselves on a crash course with their House counterparts. Lawmakers voted 64-29 on attaching a reauthorization of the bank's charter, which expired last month, to a long-term highway bill.