By choosing to end the Export-Import Bank, the GOP can zero out a destructive government program.
It seems like decades since Republicans have been able to permanently zero out a government program of any size. The tea-party base often doesn’t take seriously the GOP’s commitment to shrinking government and has accused the GOP of ladling out benefits to the elite and well connected.
If Republicans in Congress simply do nothing, the New Deal–era Export-Import Bank, which guarantees loans so that American multinationals can sell products overseas, will vanish at the end of September. Last year, the bank backed $37.4 billion in loans, loan guarantees, working-capital guarantees, and export-credit insurance, the vast majority of which went to mega-companies such as Boeing, General Electric, and Caterpillar.
Despite Ex-Im’s protestations that it has programs to help women, minorities, and small businesses, the bank is essentially a form of corporate welfare for giant multinationals. As the Wall Street Journal puts it: “If a private bank won’t do an export-financing deal, why should Congress put taxpayer money at risk to clinch the deal? In today’s global financial markets, companies large and small can access trade financing, either in the capital markets or from lenders.” Indeed, Standard & Poor’s has figured out that Boeing would do just fine without the bank, even though Boeing made up more than one-third of the bank’s loan portfolio from 2007 to 2013. “We don’t believe that the expiration of Ex-Im’s authorization in September would hurt Boeing’s credit quality or ability to make planned deliveries in 2014 and 2015,” S&P analysts wrote.
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