Conservative Organizations Urge Opposition to Ex-Im Bank Renewal

The Export-Import Bank favors “large, politically connected” firms at the expense of small and medium sized businesses by providing unfair access to foreign markets, said 30 organizations, including Americans for Tax Reform and FreedomWorks, in a May 1 letter to members of Congress. As expiration of the bank’s charter looms at the end of fiscal year 2014, lawmakers should oppose reauthorization, said the organizations. “Not only does the Export-Import bank interfere with the free market, it also jeopardizes billions of taxpayer dollars,” said the letter. “According to the Congressional Budget Office, the bank relies on obsolete accounting methods that significantly overstate its profits.” Ex-Im reauthorization has sparked a partisan fight in recent weeks and months, although House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, supports renewal (see 14042903). Bank President Fred Hochberg claims the official U.S. credit agency profited $1.057 billion in fiscal year 2013 (see 14032526).