Tea Party Targets an Agency that Actually Reduces the Deficit
Conservative Republicans love free trade, but they dont much care for a federal agency that helps facilitate it.
House conservatives want to shut down the Export-Import Bank, which lends money to foreign companies to help them buy and import American products. The banks charter expires Sept. 30 and if Congress doesnt renew it, its lights out for an institution thats been operating for 80 years with nary a whisper of opposition.
The reason the tables have turned can be summed up in two words: Tea Party.
The bank is self-funded and doesnt cost taxpayers anything, but Tea Party conservatives hate it anyway. They say the banks role is better suited for the private sector and that it disproportionately benefits big corporations like Boeing Boeing and GE. They call that crony capitalism, and picking winners and losers in the economy.
The bank says that almost 90 percent of its transactions in fiscal 2013 were for small businesses, but thats completely dishonest, says Barney Keller of the conservative Club for Growth. The vast majority goes to big companies like Caterpillar Caterpillar. He and others say the 90 percent represents loan applications, not actual loans.
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Tea Party Targets an Agency that Actually Reduces the Deficit