Rep. Jordan: Time To End Ex-Im Bank, Where ‘Flat out Corruption’ Rampant

‘The bank’s very existence is anathema to free enterprise and American values ... this is an easy call, this bank is corrupt — it should be eliminated’

“Outcome of the today’s hearing is exactly what the Oversight Committee is supposed to focus on, and frankly what Congress is supposed to focus on: eliminating waste, fraud and abuse. Things that have been going on Ex-Im Bank for a long, long time. The Export-Import Bank is little more than a fun for corporate welfare, those are my words those are the words of Senator Barack Obama in 2006. He was right. The bank was an is corrupt beyond repair and everyone knows it. But nine years later the bank still exist. Why? 

Answer to that question represents the worst of the politics. Every time the bank is up for re-authorization deep-pocketed special-interest and their friends on K Street descend on Washington with chicken little fables about how small businesses across America will suffer if the bank’s charter is allowed to expire. 

The reality is that 99.9 percent of small businesses across America get no assistance from the Ex-Im Bank. The bank’s beneficiary just some of the largest companies in America. And I don’t fault large companies, they’re great. We’re glad they’re here. We’re glad they do the great things they do in our economy but they don’t need middle-class taxpayers help to succeed. And of course one company has received most at the assistance from the bank and that’s Boeing. 

Many have called Ex-Im the ‘Bank of Boeing’ and for good reason. The last — in the last fiscal year, 40 percent of all authorized funds from the bank went to one company Boeing. That’s one and a half times more support than received by all the small businesses combined and the degree to which small businesses are actually small is not entirely clear.

In November 2014 Reuters analysis revealed the bank listed companies owned by billionaires Warren Buffett and Mexico’s Carlos Slim as small businesses. Besides big corporations, you don’t need the support the other main beneficiaries are Ex-Im Bank employees themselves. 

Recenty, Michael Whelan was hired by the bank as the vice president of structured finance. He comes from solar reserve which had a junk bond rating but still receives 737 million taxpayer dollars from the Obama administration program that supported Solyndra and has been a candidate for Ex-Im financing. There’s Tom Kiernan. He joined the bank’s advisory committee earlier this year, he’s also chief executive of the American Wind Energy Association that represents many companies they have received Ex-Im support. 

The revolving door between Boeing and the government is especially troubling. Corey Golden, Senior Director of Boeing before that he was a loan officer at the Export-Import Bank overseeing relationships with foreign airlines. So,  think about this, he worked for Ex-Im which gives 40 percent of its financing to Boeing,and now he works for Boeing. Such a deal. 

There’s also Bill Daley. He resigned from Boeing's board of directors in January 2011 to become White House chief of staff, and former secretary of commerce John Bryson who left Boeing’s board to join the Obama cabinet. In 2006 when then Senator Obama called the bank out for being a fun for corporate welfare, in 2012 the president spoke at a Boeing plant and joked that he deserved a gold watch because ‘I’m selling your stuff all the time.’ 

Corporate contentedness, corporate cronyism and there’s also just flat out corruption at the Ex-Im Bank. Just yesterday former employee at the bank was indicted for bribery. Last summer this committee held a hearing related to numerous investigations into fraud at the bank. Two officials were accused of accepting gifts in kickbacks from companies seeking export financing. One of these employees and official with significant responsibility over decision to award taxpayer-backed export assistance is accused of accepting cash payments from an applicant company. It's a nice way of saying bribes. 

Two more officials were accused of improperly awarding contracts to favored companies. All four employees refer to the Ex-Im Bank’s office of the Inspector General and investigation is currently being handled jointly by the IG and the Department of Justice. 

Given these issues many have asked is the bank fixable. In 2012, Congress engaged in the noble task of attempting to reform the dysfunction at the bank. Mr. Hochberg, I guess, and others this morning are likely to say that the bank has implemented the reforms. I respectfully disagree and I think the IG has some concerns about what they haven’t done as well. 

The harder the matter however is that the bank's very existence is anathema to free enterprise and American values. Members of Congress will face many difficult decisions and tough votes in the months and years ahead. But re-authorization of the Ex-Im Bank is not one of them. This is an easy call. This bank is corrupt and it should be eliminated. It should be allowed to wind down in the natural course of events and not be reauthorized. And with that I would yield back my time.”

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