Coalition Urges End to Export-Import Bank and Government Cronyism
Coalition Urges End to Export-Import Bank and Government Cronyism
Americans Taxpayers Deserve a Fair Use of their Money
(Washington, D.C.) – The LIBRE Initiative has previously highlighted the opportunity Congress has to cut corporate welfare by allowing authorization for the Export-Import Bank to expire, as called for under current law. The move would save billions of taxpayer dollars per year, and end a practice that helps large companies expand sales at the expense of taxpayers and other American companies.
The LIBRE Initiative has joined with a 30-member coalition including Americans for Prosperity, Generation Opportunity, the American Conservative Union, Americans for Tax Reform, Heritage Action, National Taxpayers Union, R Street Institute, Taxpayers for Common Sense, Taxpayers Protection Alliance, CCAGW and others to call on Congress to oppose the reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank. The coalition letter cites risky loans and poor accounting practices that are harmful to taxpayers, who are left footing the bill. In fact, Americans have already had to bail out this bank at a cost of $3 billion. With the poor state of our national economy, and our $17 trillion outstanding debt, the United States cannot afford to sustain an institution that is eliminating jobs and losing an estimated $200 million every year according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
On Monday, May 5, 2014 LIBRE will join our coalition partners in hosting an event to oppose the reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank from 12:30 – 1:30 PM at the Rayburn House Office Building, room B339. The event is free and open to all congressional and federal agency staff. Please RSVP here.
Jorge Lima, Policy Director of The LIBRE Initiative released the following statement:
"This event will call attention to the problems with the waste and unfair impacts of the Export-Import Bank, and will make clear why taxpayers and companies will be better off if its charter is allowed to expire. The president and Members of Congress should be committed to eliminating waste and ensuring that taxpayer dollars are used to promote the common good rather than choosing winners and losers. Paying foreign companies to buy products from large and politically-connected corporations is wrong and distorts our markets.
In our struggling national economy, small-business owners are not receiving billion-dollar government subsidies to grow their profits. Large corporations shouldn't either. We shouldn't allow this unfair practice to continue and are calling on our elected officials to work on behalf of the people who put them in office."
For interviews with a LIBRE representative, please contact: Brian Faughnan, 703-678-4581 or Steven Cruz, 202-578-6173.
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