Key Vote NO on the Export-Import Bank Reauthorization
Dear FreedomWorks member,
As one of our million-plus FreedomWorks members nationwide, I urge you to contact your representative and ask him or her to vote against reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank that is scheduled to expire at the end of May. In the House of Representatives, Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI) has introduced H.R. 4268, the Export-Import Bank Termination Act to eliminate the bank for good, which you should encourage your member to co-sponsor. The Export-Import Bank takes money from American taxpayers to subsidize exports by politically powerful American companies. Members of Congress should vote against reauthorizing the Ex-Im Bank which hurts taxpayers and distorts the market.
Proponents of the Ex-Im Bank often equate it with free trade. However, the Ex-Im Bank has nothing to do with free trade. The opposite is true: the bank makes it so bureaucrats and politicians dictate trade flows. True free trade occurs in the absence of government intervention when individuals are free to trade goods across borders. But the Ex-Im Bank has only increased government intervention in trade. President Obama has announced that he plans to double exports within five years. While that may sound like a noble goal, he would do so by handing out tax dollars to big, politically-connected companies. More government intervention is not the way to increase exports. Lower taxes and reducing regulations on American companies would make their products more competitive internationally and create jobs at no cost to the taxpayer.
The Ex-Im Bank embodies corporate welfare; it is a prime example of crony capitalism that has hurt economic growth. Ex-Im Bank picks winners and losers in the private sector. This bill will grant more taxpayer-financed subsidies to big corporations. Government bureaucrats should not subsidize the trade of certain companies with our hard-earned money. For instance, the Bank is subsidizing foreign airlines to buy American aircrafts. This certainly is not a responsible use of our tax dollars. Congress should vote against reauthorizing the Ex-Im bank and push to shut it down for good, as H.R. 4268 does.
I urge you to call your representative and ask him or her to vote against reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank. We will count their vote as a KEY VOTE when calculating the FreedomWorks Economic Freedom Scorecard for 2012. The Economic Freedom Scorecard is used to determine eligibility for the Jefferson Award, which recognizes members of Congress with voting records that support economic freedom.
Sincerely,
Matt Kibbe
President and CEO
FreedomWorks
[Click here for a PDF version of this letter.]
