Bill Lee: “many Americans might be surprised, shocked, and troubled to learn that some of their tax dollars are going directly to…”

“many Americans might be surprised, shocked, and troubled to learn that some of their tax dollars are going directly to Chinese companies and that some of those dollars even go to corporations owned by the Chinese Government, like Chinese banks, Chinese development agencies, and Chinese microprocessor factories. In recent years, in fact, China received $50 million in loans and guarantees, all backed by American citizens. Taxpayers would be right to be puzzled and concerned about why their hard-earned money is subsidizing Chinese state-owned companies. To be clear, we are not talking about voluntary investment from American businesses; we are taking about the backing of the U.S. Government. They might ask: How is this the case? Why on Earth would we do this? Why is this happening? The answer has to do with the very institution to which we are going to be trying to confirm nominees today. The Export-Import Bank--or Ex-Im, as it is often described--was created during the height of the Great Depression to help U.S. exporters when they were desperate for customers and foreign markets lacked the capital to finance trade. It was conceived particularly to help small businesses to be able to compete, as many of its current proponents still claim, still insist, to this very day. But for decades, the institution that is the Export-Import Bank has unfortunately been used as a giant tool for corporate welfare.…”