Ralph Nader Calls for ‘Unlikely Allies’ to Let This Federal Agency Die
Melissa Quinn /
Veteran consumer advocate Ralph Nader says Republicans and Democrats in Congress shouldn’t miss a chance to unite as “unlikely allies” by declining to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank, a federal agency whose charter expires Sept. 30.
“The Ex-Im bank situation presents a unique opportunity later this month to do something (ironically, through doing nothing) by letting the Ex-Im Bank’s charter expire for good,” Nader writes in an op-ed for The Huffington Post, adding:
Leaders in Congress must get over the ‘yuck factor’ of working with their colleagues across the aisle and come together when such concurring occasions present themselves.
In the op-ed published Sept. 5, Nader says that 80 years after the Export-Import Bank was created, its “stated mission of boosting American jobs is questionable, at best.”
He cites allegations of fraud and corruption by Ex-Im Bank officials that call into question the agency’s transparency — or “general lack of,” as he puts it.
The pioneering consumer advocate and four-time presidential hopeful told The Daily Signal in June that he hoped to see the government’s “secretive bank” abolished, in part because the agency perpetuates a market-distorting “too big to fail” philosophy.
“What [cronyism] amounts to is extraordinary power over government agencies and departments to turn their mission into a corporate capitalist guaranteed system,” Nader said at the time.
The future of the New Deal-era bank, which provides taxpayer-backed loans and loan guarantees to foreign countries and companies to purchase U.S. products, has created unlikely alliances between Republicans and Democrats on both sides of the debate.
Supporters of Ex-Im, ranging from former President Bill Clinton on the left to Texas Gov. Rick Perry on the right, argue that the agency helps small businesses remain competitive in the global market and creates jobs in the United States.
>>> Commentary: It’s Time to End Cronyism in Washington. Let’s Begin with the Export-Import Bank.
However, opponents as conservative as House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, and as liberal as Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., characterize the agency as an engine of corporate welfare and cronyism.
Bill Clinton has it wrong on Ex-Im Bank, Ralph Nader says. (Photo: Hector Retamal/Getty Images)
Such an example of “common ground” should be heeded by “congressional leaders on the left,” Nader writes, suggesting that Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). should be vocal opponents of Ex-Im.
Although small businesses nationwide receive support from Ex-Im, the bank’s financing is involved in only 2 percent of all U.S. exports. Several large companies — Boeing, General Electric and Caterpillar among them — receive the bulk of loans and guarantees.
>>> This State Benefits Big from the Export-Import Bank. Want to Know Why?
Nader writes:
Ex-Im defenders argue that the majority of its loans go to small businesses that cannot secure financing in the private market, conveniently ignoring the crucial fact that the majority of the money goes to big businesses such as … Boeing, as well as other giant corporations like General Electric (10 percent of Ex-Im loans and guarantees in 2013) and Caterpillar (approximately 5 percent).
Such companies argue their profits will suffer if Congress doesn’t reauthorize the bank. Foreign recipients of Ex-Im financing, however, say business would not be interrupted should the charter expire.
Hubert Frach, divisional senior vice president for Dubai’s Emirates Airline, told Reuters that Ex-Im’s expiration would not hinder his company’s ability to purchase planes from Boeing.
“Ex-Im is not an exclusive tool for Emirates to finance the aircraft,” he said. “Our aircraft are financed by various concepts.”
>>> Deal or No Deal? House Republicans Toy with Short-Term Extension of Export-Import Bank