TPA Joins Coalition Urging End to Export-Import Bank

May 5, 2014

TPA Joins Coalition Urging End to Export-Import Bank

Joins Conservative Groups in Coalition Letter & Hill Briefing Urging Congress Reject Reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank

Washington, D.C. – The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) will be joining other leading conservative and free market organizations today at a joint briefing in B-339 Rayburn House Office Building at 12:30 pm to urge Congress to reject reauthorization of the Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank. The Ex-Im Bank has been a waste of taxpayer money for far too long, and it runs directly counter to the principles of free-markets that our nation’s economy is built upon. The Ex-Im Bank engages in some of the worst forms of corporate welfare and cronyism on a regular basis and TPA is absolutely opposed to this bank continuing the kinds of destructive policies that kill jobs and harm taxpayers.

A joint coalition letter signed by TPA stated that:

“By paying foreign companies to buy American exports, the Export-Import Bank tilts the playing field away from mid-sized and small businesses in favor of large, politically connected corporations. The Airlines for America, for example, estimates that the bank’s recent loans to foreign airlines have killed as many as 7,500 jobs for domestic airlines in the United States. Eliminating the Export-Import Bank would level the playing field and allow U.S. companies to compete for business on their merits rather than the strength of their political ties to the bank.”

“Year after year Ex-Im Bank doles out billions of dollars in below market financing to foreign companies at the expense of American jobs,” said TPA President David Williams.  “By denying reauthorization of the Ex-Im Bank this year, Congress has a prime opportunity to help end some of the worst practices of cronyism we’ve seen in government,” concluded Williams.

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Here’s the full letter from the coalition:

30 Groups to Congress: Let the Export-Import Bank Expire

May 1, 2014

Dear Members of Congress:

On behalf of our groups and organizations, together representing millions of Americans, we urge you to oppose the reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank. It unfairly hurts domestic companies and risks billions of taxpayer dollars.

By paying foreign companies to buy American exports, the Export-Import Bank tilts the playing field away from mid-sized and small businesses in favor of large, politically connected corporations. The Airlines for America, for example, estimates that the bank’s recent loans to foreign airlines have killed as many as 7,500 jobs for domestic airlines in the United States. Eliminating the Export-Import Bank would level the playing field and allow U.S. companies to compete for business on their merits rather than the strength of their political ties to the bank.

Not only does the Export-Import bank interfere with the free market, it also jeopardizes billions of taxpayer dollars. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the bank relies on obsolete accounting methods that significantly overstate its profits. When using a fair-value accounting analysis, a study by Massachusetts Institute of Technology concluded that the bank is actually losing $200 million a year. These risky loans and poor accounting practices are harmful to taxpayers, who are left footing the bill. In fact, taxpayers have already bailed out this bank once before at a cost of $3 billion.

America deserves an international trade policy that is based on free-market mechanisms, not paying foreign companies to buy exports from large corporations with political connections. We, the undersigned organizations, urge you to oppose reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank.

Sincerely,

Brent Gardner, Director of Federal Affairs, Americans for Prosperity
Jim Martin, Chairman, 60 Plus Association
Phil Kerpen, President, American Commitment
Al Cardenas, Chairman, American Conservative Union
Nathan Paul Mehrens, President, Americans for Limited Government
Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform
John Tate, President, Campaign For Liberty
Tina Pisenti, Executive VP and COO, Cascade Policy Institute
Thomas A. Schatz, President, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste
Andrew Quinlan, President, Center for Freedom and Prosperity
Jeffrey Mazzella, President, Center for Individual Freedom
Chris Chocola, President, Club for Growth
Tom Brinkman Jr., Chairman, Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST)
Lawson Bader, President, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Pete Hegseth, CEO, Concerned Veterans for America
Mattie Duppler, Executive Director, Cost of Government Center
Coley Jackson, President, Freedom Action
Matt Kibbe, President and CEO, FreedomWorks
Evan Feinberg, President, GenOpp
Michael A. Needham, Chief Executive Officer, Heritage Action for America
Seton Motley, President, Less Government
Daniel Garza, Executive Director, The LIBRE Initiative
Colin A. Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring
Lew Uhler, President, National Tax Limitation Committee
Pete Sepp, Executive Vice President, National Taxpayers Union
Andrew Moylan, Executive Director and Senior Fellow, R Street Institute
Paul Gessing, President, Rio Grande Foundation
Stephen Ellis, Vice President, Taxpayers for Common Sense
David Williams, President, Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Judson Phillips, Founder, Tea Party Nation