Bill Lee: “what my distinguished colleagues from North Dakota and Indiana are proposing is to unleash the Export-Import Bank from…”

“what my distinguished colleagues from North Dakota and Indiana are proposing is to unleash the Export-Import Bank from the constraints under which it currently must operate and to begin authorizing transactions above $10 million. Between 2007 and 2014, 84 percent of the Bank's subsidy and loan guarantee deals exceeded $10 million--84 percent--and the vast majority of those were given to the wealthiest, most well-connected businesses in America that should have no problem at all obtaining financing in the open market. The Export-Import Bank represents so much of what the American people resent and despise about Washington, DC. This is a Great Depression era relic, one that lives on today and has grown into one of the most treasured relics for favoring banks. It is a favored relic for well- heeled lobbyists, big government, and politically favored businesses. It is an 82-year-old case study in American corporate welfare, and for some reason this Senate continues to support it. Ex-Im has managed to live through more than 30 corruption and fraud investigations into its system of doling out taxpayer-backed subsidies and loan guarantees to foreign buyers of U.S. exports. In 2013, for half of the financing deals within the Export-Import Bank's portfolio, Ex-Im was either unable or unwilling to provide any justification whatsoever connected to its mission.…”