“This is so important,” Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said about reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank, “because 85,000 Washington state jobs hang in the balance. That is how many jobs have been supported here in the state by the Export-Import Bank.

How does the senator know how many jobs a few taxpayer-backed loan guarantees from Ex-Im “supported”? She doesn’t. But Ex-Im defenders constantly cite specific jobs figures like this.