EVERETT, Wash. — When the touchy subject of the Export-Import Bank came up at “town hall” meeting with Boeing employees Thursday, House Speaker Paul Ryan didn’t change his message.
Seated next to Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenberg, Ryan called for reforms to the bank, which has been referred to as the “Bank of Boeing” for the large share of its financing that benefits the aircraft maker.
“A lot of us have really called for reforms to the Ex-Im bank because we want to make sure that taxpayer dollars are used wisely and that we’re not giving any particular business an advantage over others,” Ryan said in response to an employee question.
Ex-Im, as it is known, is a government bank that facilitates credit for purchasers of U.S. exports through loan guarantees and other products. About 40 percent of its financing is directed toward Boeing sales.
Manufacturers say the government-backed guarantees are needed to level the playing field for U.S. companies that compete with foreign businesses that receive government aid.
Some congressional conservatives, however, argue that it interferes with the free market by picking winners and losers and have sought to shut it down.
In the past, Ryan has called it “corporate welfare.”
In 2015, Congress voted to reauthorize the bank through 2019, over the objections of some conservatives who wanted broader changes or to see the bank phased out altogether.
On Thursday, Ryan suggested that Boeing would benefit more from his economic agenda than it does from Ex-Im.
“The biggest thing I think we can do to help a business like this: Get our taxes fixed, get our regulations fixed and open up markets,” Ryan said, referring to trade deals.
Muilenberg, responding, said that those policies and retaining Ex-Im are “compatible objectives.”
