Key Vote NO on Any Re-authorization of the Ex-Im Bank

As one of our over 6.9 million FreedomWorks activists nationwide, I urge you to contact your representative and senators and ask them to vote NO on any reauthorization of the U.S. Export-Import Bank. This includes votes for the highway funding bill if Ex-Im reauthorization is attached.

The Ex-Im Bank is an 80-year-old instrument of cronyism and corporate welfare, issuing loan guarantees to huge companies and gambling with taxpayer money on politically fashionable projects such as green energy companies. On July 1st, 2015, the Bank’s charter was allowed to expire for the first time in its existence, thanks to political pressure from grassroots activists tired of government picking winners and losers in the marketplace.

Now, many Members of Congress are trying to reauthorize the Bank, under pressure from special interest lobbyists who want their handouts. Their intention is to attach the Bank’s reauthorization as an amendment to the upcoming highway funding bill, must-pass legislation that gives lawmakers a way to hide their support of a corporate welfare institution. Even if they do not attach such an amendment to the highway bill, it is probable that authorization for the Ex-Im Bank will reappear later in the year tacked on to some other “must-pass” bill. For this reason, we are issuing this preemptive notice that we will score votes on any bill that reauthorizes the Ex-Im Bank as a vote against liberty on our Congressional Scorecard.

The Bank has not been issuing new loans for three weeks, and there has been no financial disaster. Boeing and General Electric are carrying on as normal, with no threat of bankruptcy in sight. The expiration of the Ex-Im Bank has demonstrated that the American economy does not depend on special favors to connected interests. The ability to finally end the Export-Import Bank was a bold step forward towards a more transparent, more accountable, and less corrupt government. The last thing Congress should do is reverse that gain.

Please contact your representative and senators and ask that they vote NO on any bill reauthorizing the Ex-Im Bank. FreedomWorks will count any such vote as a Key Vote when calculating our Congressional Scorecard for 2015. The scorecard is used to determine eligibility for the FreedomFighter Award, which recognizes Members of Congress who consistently vote to support economic freedom and individual liberty.

Sincerely,

Adam Brandon
CEO, FreedomWorks