Watchdog group wants to eliminate Export-Import Bank

The bank’s mission is to help finance the export of American goods and services. But Ex-Im has also been called “Reverse Robin Hood” by some critics, who note it gives loans to companies like Boeing and Halliburton. 

“The Export-Import Bank is one more example of the government’s willingness to continue to expose taxpayers to risk while allowing private companies to reap the benefits,” Tom Schatz, the president of the waste watchdog group, said in a statement. “It provides politicians with easy handouts dressed up as ‘job creation,’ but it’s corporate welfare through and through.”

Schatz’s organization says eliminating the bank would save close to $950 million over five years. 

For its part, Ex-Im announced recently that it was launching a new initiative to help small businesses export their products, all part of the Obama administration’s plan to double exports over five years. According to the bank’s website, roughly 85 percent of its transactions directly aid small businesses.