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 Representative Jeb Hensarling wrote a scathing letter to Jay
Timmons, president of the National Association of Manufacturers, and
James McNerney, chairman of Boeing, referring to reports they were
visiting lawmakers to promote the reauthorization of the bank.
The 80-year-old bank promotes exports by offering financing to
foreign buyers of U.S. goods, helping some major companies such as
Boeing to compete internationally.
But Hensarling, a conservative Republican, said the bank's activity
amounts to favoring multinational companies at the expense of U.S.
taxpayers. The financial services committee he leads has
jurisdiction over the bank, and Hensarling is trying to stop
Congress from renewing its charter when it expires on Sept. 30.
"I respect your constitutional right to petition your government for
the redress of grievances," Hensarling wrote to Timmons and
McNerney. "I just wish you had used the occasion to petition for
opportunity instead of special privilege."
Timmons and McNerney could come to see him on Capitol Hill as long
as they were not promoting policies for taxpayer subsidies, in which
case "a meeting would probably not prove to be a good use of our
time," Hensarling said in the letter, which his office provided to
Reuters.
A NAM spokesman defended the group's position, saying: "The NAM
continues to be committed to manufacturers, their families and the
communities they serve and protecting them by making sure the Ex-Im
Bank is reauthorized."
A Boeing spokeswoman said the company had not received a letter from
Hensarling, but that the Ex-IM bank was "vital" to Boeing's ability
to compete successfully.
"We believe there exists a clear majority in Congress that supports
the continuation of the U.S. Ex-Im Bank," she said.
Ex-Im bank supporters say that, in addition to helping big companies
such as Boeing, it helps thousands of small U.S. businesses with
trade credit insurance or loan guarantees. They argue that other
countries do more to support their exports.
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Last year, Ex-Im's loans backed $37.4 billion of U.S. exports and
supported 205,000 U.S. jobs, the bank has said.
The bank used to be fairly uncontroversial, but growing opposition
among Republicans has cast doubt on its future. The incoming House
Republican majority leader, Representative Kevin McCarthy, has said
he also thinks it should expire. The Democratic-run Senate is more
favorably disposed, but Majority Leader Harry Reid has not set a
vote on the issue.
Hensarling said that, while the bank might be helping some
companies, it costs jobs at others, and he does not buy the argument
that it levels the playing field with other countries.
"Over 98 percent of U.S. exports are financed successfully without
Ex-Im and taxpayer backing," he wrote. "So I do not find the
argument that 'Everyone else is doing it, so must we' to be
particularly persuasive."
(Reporting by Susan Cornwell. Editing by Andre Grenon)
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