e·gre·gious -- outstandingly bad; shocking. The Ex-Im Bank: A “Petri Dish” of Corruption? With a House committee preparing to examine allegations of corruption at the Export-Import Bank, it’s an appropriate time to remember a couple of other instances involving corruption from Ex-Im’s history. Former Congressman Bill Jefferson (D-LA), famous for having $90,000 in cash in his freezer, is in federal prison today because he was bribed for promising to steer Ex-Im assistance to favored companies. An Ex-Im Bank employee was indicted for taking a $100,000 bribe in the same case as Jefferson. Employ... Read More »
Committee Reviews the Dodd-Frank Act on its 4-year Anniversary On Wednesday, the full committee held a hearing to assess the impact of the Dodd-Frank Act on America’s Main Street economy and hard-working American taxpayers on its 4th anniversary of being signed into law. "It wasn’t deregulation; it was bad regulation that helped lead us into this crisis. So if you get the wrong diagnosis you get the wrong remedy. Dodd-Frank has been the wrong remedy, adding incomprehensible complexity to incomprehensible complexity," said Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX). "So at the time Dodd-Frank was passed, ... Read More »
The Export-Import Bank just can’t help themselves. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), a country described as having “a high standard of living because of oil wealth,” sovereign wealth over $1 trillion in assets and a per-capita GDP of over $58,000, decided it needed some new aircraft and turbines. Who better to help than American taxpayers through the Export-Import Bank? In FY2013, the Ex-Im Bank offered over $1 billion worth of loans and loan guarantees backed by hardworking Americans’ taxpayer dollars to the UAE to buy aircraft from Boeing and turbines from General Electric. With this latest d... Read More »
e·gre·gious -- outstandingly bad; shocking. The Export-Import Bank – Helping Those Who Can Help Themselves Mexican Company Admits It Doesn’t Need Ex-Im’s Help, But Since It’s Offering… Mexico-based satellite operator known as Satmex announced it doesn’t need a loan from the Export-Import Bank to finance the purchase of Boeing satellites. But that’s no reason not to take the “free money” financed by hardworking U.S. taxpayers through Ex-Im, is it? In a conference call with investors, Satmex’s CEO Juan Garcia “said the company is nonetheless still working” to receive “a low-interest loan” from ... Read More »
e·gre·gious -- outstandingly bad; shocking. The Ex-Im Bank’s Support for Australia’s “Corporate Welfare Queen” Australia’s richest citizen Gina Rinehart in Singapore at the signing of agreements for the Roy Hill mine. Why is Australia’s richest citizen – worth at least $18 billion – receiving loans backed by American taxpayers? The Sydney Morning Herald calls it “the latest example of a flaw in the United States political economy: what some see as crony capitalism.” Regrettably, “crony capitalism” is just what the Export-Import Bank does day-in, day-out: use hardworking taxpayers to finance c... Read More »
At his event in Seattle tonight, it won’t be surprising if President Obama praises the Export-Import Bank as a “jobs creator” that “doesn’t cost taxpayers anything.” It’s a far cry from how he used to describe the Export-Import Bank – as “little more than a fund for corporate welfare.” The President may hope that his audience is unfamiliar with those remarks. He may also hope they overlook the fact that the Ex-Im Bank has been doing business with Russian companies that his Treasury Department added to its sanctions list. But here are five important facts about Ex-Im: 1). The Ex-Im Bank doesn’t... Read More »
On Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. the Full Committee will hold a hearing to assess the impact of the Dodd-Frank Act on its four-year anniversary. To view the committee staff report on “too big to fail” that was released today, click here. On Thursday at 10:00 a.m. the Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises Subcommittee will hold a hearing to examine the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance. Be sure to check back here on the Bottom Line Blog -- and sign up for our email updates -- for additional information throughout the week. Read More »
With One Hand U.S. Sanctions Russian Companies, But With the Other… The Export-Import Bank is financing deals with Russian companies hit by U.S. sanctions this past week. Two of the four Russian firms targeted with new sanctions announced last week by the Obama administration have received more than $1 billion in U.S. taxpayer-financed subsidies from the Export-Import Bank. Vnesheconombank (VEB) and Gazprombank – two state-owned Russian banks – have together received more than $1 billion in Ex-Im financing since 2003. Here are the deal details: In 2003, Gazprombank received a five-year loan gu... Read More »
Full Committee Receives Semi-Annual Testimony on Monetary Policy and the State of the Economy On Wednesday, the full committee held a hearing to receive the semi-annual testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on the conduct of monetary policy and the state of the economy. Members of the committee called attention to the Federal Reserve Accountability and Transparency Act introduced by Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI) and Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ), which the committee held a hearing on last week. "The overwhelming weight of evidence is that monetary policy is at its best in maintaining stabl... Read More »
Ex-Im and the Democratic Republic of the Congo President Obama and the First Lady pose with Denis Sassou-Nguesso, President of the DRC, and his wife, Mrs. Antoinette Sassou-Nguesso. The U.S. Statement Department reports the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is a country with “major human rights problems.” One human rights organization labelled it the “rape capital of the world.” According to another report, women in this country were raped by security forces to stop “women speaking about politics, human rights and, in some cases, rape itself.” Despite these horrific abuses and the DRC’s ... Read More »
