Club for Growth President Chris Chocola: “Congressmen Jeb Hensarling and Congressman Paul Ryan are exactly right – Congress should end the Export-Import Bank once and for all.” 

Washington, DC - Today, the Club for Growth issued a statement of support in response to published reports that Congressman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) and Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI) have urged conservatives not to reauthorize the taxpayer-backed, corporate-welfare slush fund known as the Export-Import Bank.

According to The Hill: 

In a private meeting of the conservative Republican Study Committee (RSC) this week, Hensarling stood up to advocate for ending the bank entirely, according to several people in the room. Hensarling said the bank represented “cronyism” and “corporate welfare,” presenting conservatives with the choice of being “pro-free enterprise” as opposed to merely “pro-business.” 

Hensarling said he would listen to members who want to reauthorize the bank with reforms, but he argued that it should be allowed to lapse without congressional action. 

In the same meeting, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), also pushed for allowing the charter to expire, arguing that Republicans should not support what conservatives consider corporate welfare programs at the same time as they are advocating cuts to individual welfare programs like food stamps, according to people in the room. 

“Congressmen Jeb Hensarling and Congressman Paul Ryan are exactly right – Congress should end the Export-Import Bank once and for all,” said Club for Growth President Chris Chocola. “Republicans and Democrats should have no problem ending an organization that asked for a bailout before, gave loans to everything from Enron to Mexican drug cartels, and engaged in talks to give a subsidy to a Russian billionaire with ties to Vladimir Putin. It’s time Congress took a hard stand against corporate cronyism and there’s no reason they can’t start with the Export-Import Bank.”