For a couple of years now, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has been touting its “Campaign for Free Enterprise.” And forever, the Chamber has been lobbying for subsidies and bailouts.
The latest: The Chamber petitioning to re-up a federal agency that exists entirely to dole out corporate welfare, with most of the money going to Boeing. Here’s a recent letter from the Chamber:
TO THE MEMBERS OF THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS:
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the world’s largest business federation, representing the interests of more than three million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, strongly supports legislation now before Congress to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im). We understand conferees are close to resolving the relatively minor differences between H.R. 2072, the “Securing American Jobs Through Exports Act of 2011,” and S.1547, the “Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act of 2011.” We strongly urge you to approve a four-year reauthorization for Ex-Im with funding at the level authorizers have agreed to this year.
The Chamber strongly supports the goal set by President Obama to double U.S. exports by 2014. Boosting exports is one of the most promising avenues to creating jobs for the nearly 25 million Americans who are currently unemployed, underemployed, or have simply given up looking for work. Ex-Im must play a leading role in this effort to increase exports, create American jobs, and enhance U.S. competitiveness.
Ex-Im has supported over $400 billion in U.S. exports in the past 70 years. It helps to cover critical trade finance gaps by providing loan guarantees, export credit insurance, and direct loans for U.S. exports in developing markets where commercial-bank financing is unavailable or insufficient. In Fiscal Year 2011, Ex-Im supported a total of $40.6 billion in export sales that sustained approximately 290,000 U.S. jobs at over 3,600 companies.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the world’s largest business federation, representing the interests of more than three million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, strongly supports legislation now before Congress to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im). We understand conferees are close to resolving the relatively minor differences between H.R. 2072, the “Securing American Jobs Through Exports Act of 2011,” and S.1547, the “Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act of 2011.” We strongly urge you to approve a four-year reauthorization for Ex-Im with funding at the level authorizers have agreed to this year.
The Chamber strongly supports the goal set by President Obama to double U.S. exports by 2014. Boosting exports is one of the most promising avenues to creating jobs for the nearly 25 million Americans who are currently unemployed, underemployed, or have simply given up looking for work. Ex-Im must play a leading role in this effort to increase exports, create American jobs, and enhance U.S. competitiveness.
Ex-Im has supported over $400 billion in U.S. exports in the past 70 years. It helps to cover critical trade finance gaps by providing loan guarantees, export credit insurance, and direct loans for U.S. exports in developing markets where commercial-bank financing is unavailable or insufficient. In Fiscal Year 2011, Ex-Im supported a total of $40.6 billion in export sales that sustained approximately 290,000 U.S. jobs at over 3,600 companies.
