Veronique de Rugy writes about the recently passed Continuing Resolution that kept the government from shutting down:
I for one am relieved that they didn’t use the CR as a way to restore the full-lending authority of the crony Export Import Bank and I commend the senate for it….[But] this CR funds the government only until December 9, which means that Congress will once again have to consider a massive and unaccountable 2017 spending bill during a lame-duck session. The chance of lawmakers using this opportunity to load the bill with pork projects, Ex-Im’s full revival, and other special-interest handouts…is significant.
This is just an idle question, but how is it that the Export Import Bank became such a tea party hot button? I don’t personally care about it too much one way or the other, but I understand why a lot of people are opposed to it. Still, it’s a relatively small program, and its net cost to taxpayers is zero or close to it. Even if it is a congressional piggy bank, it hardly seems worth getting in a lather about.
So how did it become such a bête noire for the right? Does anyone know if there’s an interesting backstory here?
