If You Needed More Evidence That Democrats Love Cronyism, They Just Forced an Early Vote on Ex-Im

Last night, the Hill announced that three top Democrats on the House Financial Committee will force a vote today on Export-Import Bank. Here is the report by Kevin Cirilli:

Three Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee moved Thursday to force the panel to consider reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank, according to a copy of an amendment first obtained by The Hill.


Reps. Gwen Moore (Wis.), Denny Heck (Wash.) and Maxine Waters (Calif.) offered the amendment in advance of the committee’s Friday markup of President Obama’s budget request.

In my opinion, there are two things going on here: First, for months the Finance Services committee chairman, Republican Jeb Hensarling, has been trying to do the right thing and let the agency’s charter expire. Thus, there’s currently no plan to move a bill approving Ex-Im through the committee. Hendarling’s fight to protect taxpayers’s money, restore some fairness by removing the bank’s distortions in the capital market, protecting the bank’s unseen victims and putting an end the unhealthy marriage between the federal government and big businesses doesn’t sit well with some.

At the same time, Democrats are just as much the party of big businesses rather than the defenders of the little people. Here are the Ex-Im Bank’s biggest beneficiaries. 

According to the bank’s own data, 80 percent of its money benefits large and well-connected companies — with 66 percent going to one huge company alone, Boeing.

So this is about Democratic cronyism. Of course they claim otherwise, but if Democrats were, as they claim, fighting so fervently for the bank because of what it does for small businesses, wouldn’t they be pushing for a radical reform of the bank’s activities?

They could propose a reform bill that forbids the bank to lend any money to large firms. But they’re not doing that, are they?

Update: The amendment failed. The Hill reports:

The House Financial Services Committee on Friday voted down an amendment that would have forced the panel to formally consider reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank.

Ranking Member Maxine Waters (Calif.), along with Reps. Gwen Moore (Wis.) and Denny Heck (Wash.) introduced the amendment, which failed along a party-line vote of 22 to 33.

If Congress doesn’t take action, the banks charter would expire on June 30. 

Now, hopefully, Republicans will sit on their hands and there will be no more vote on Ex-Im ever.