TPA Joins Coalition Urging Senate to Reject Ex-Im Provision in Continuing Resolution

This week the Senate will be moving forward on action to pass a short term continuing resolution that will fund the government until early December. Their goal is to pass this legislation so they can adjourn for the duration of the election campaign and return for a lame duck session after Thanksgiving. Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) has already come out against a lame duck, knowing that taxpayers will be the ones at risk for a short-term session of Congress with many members who will have zero accountability for their actions due to either retiring or being replaced by the voters in the upcoming election. Unfortunately, these stopgap-spending bills always manage to include things other than just essential funding to keep the government open. One provision that Senators are looking to add on will make giving loans to the crony Export-Import Bank easier by subverting the current approval process for Ex-Im board members. TPA joined a coalition effort last week led by Americans for Prosperity and signed this letter, with over 30 other groups, urging the Senate to reject this provision. Ex-Im doesn’t need more loans with less oversight; they need fewer loans and more oversight.

The full letter can be found below:


September 16, 2016

Dear Senate Majority Leader McConnell and House Speaker Ryan:

On behalf of our groups and organizations, together representing millions of Americans, we urge you to oppose efforts to ease the quorum requirement for the Export Import Bank on upcoming spending legislation.

We have significant concerns on the procedure. Attaching this quorum change to a continuing resolution is the latest in a line of efforts that subvert Congressional processes. This provision would subvert the Senate approval process for board members of the Export-Import Bank and set a concerning precedent for future accountability.

We also have concerns on the merits of the policy. This provision would allow the bank to make larger loans with even less oversight–and it would be attached to unrelated legislation providing funds for the government after September 30. This would make it easier for the agency to make risky, taxpayer-backed loans to big businesses and foreign corporations.

American taxpayers and small businesses deserve better than this. We encourage you to oppose efforts to attach a provision to ease the quorum requirement for the Export Import Bank on upcoming spending legislation.

Sincerely,

Brent Gardner, Vice President of Government Affairs, Americans for Prosperity
Mark Holden, Chairman, Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce
David McIntosh, President, Club for Growth
Michael A. Needham, CEO, Heritage Action for America
Jim Martin, Chairman, 60 Plus Association
Melissa Ortiz, Founder & Principal, Able Americans
Phil Kerpen, President, American Commitment
Thomas J. Pyle, President, American Energy Alliance
Coley Jackson, President, Americans for Competitive Enterprise
Peter J. Thomas, Chairman, Americans for Constitutional Liberty
Norm Singleton, President, Campaign For Liberty
Andrew F. Quinlan, President, Center for Freedom and Prosperity
Jeffrey Mazzella, President, Center for Individual Freedom
Jim Backlin, Vice President for Legislative Affairs, Christian Coalition for America
Michael J. Bowen, CEO, Coalition For a Strong America
Stephani Scruggs, COO, Coalition For a Strong America
Iain Murray, Vice President for Strategy, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Dan Caldwell, Vice President for Legislative and Political Action, Concerned Veterans for America
Tom Schatz, President, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste
Adam Brandon, President and CEO, FreedomWorks
Andrew Clark, President, Generation Opportunity
Andresen Blom, Executive Director, Grassroot Hawaii Action, Inc.
Carrie Lukas, Managing Director, Independent Women’s Forum
Heather Higgens, President and CEO, Independent Women’s Voice
Andrew Langer, President, Institute for Liberty
Seton Motley, President, Less Government
Mat Staver, Esq., Founder and Chairman, Liberty Counsel
Amy Ridenour, Chairman, National Center for Public Policy Research
Willes K. Lee, President, National Federation of Republican Assemblies
Pete Sepp, President, National Taxpayers Union
Andrew Moylan, Executive Director and Senior Fellow, R Street Institute
William Whipple III, President, Secure America’s Future Economy
Stephen Ellis, Vice President, Taxpayers for Common Sense
David Williams, President, Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Judson Phillips, Founder, Tea Party Nation
Jenny Beth Martin, Co-Founder, Tea Party Patriots
Daniel Garza, Executive Director, The LIBRE Initiative
Carl Bearden, Executive Director, United for Missouri