Ex-Im under GOP fire for small business reports

Critics of the Export-Import Bank are pouncing on a report that the bank botched how it calculates its small-business reports.

Reuters reported earlier Thursday that Ex-Im officials have labeled hundreds of large companies as small businesses, including some firms that are owned by Warren Buffet.

{mosads}House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), who has pushed to end the bank’s existence, argued the report undermines Ex-Im’s argument that it is an engine for small businesses.

“Rarely does Ex-Im miss a PR opportunity to claim that it primarily helps small business, but Ex-Im is again playing fast and loose with the facts,” he said in a statement.

A former senior White House official who supports the bank said the mistakes represented less than 5 percent of its total transactions.

“That’s unfortunate, nothing more,” the official said. “And it should be noted that the Bank’s IT systems are antiquated and in the process of being upgraded. No smoke, no fire. And finally, remember those are still U.S. jobs and U.S. exports that are being supported. That’s still a good thing, right?”

House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) subpoenaed Ex-Im President Fred Hochberg last week after Hochberg refused to meet Republicans’ requests for transcripts of the bank’s meetings.

“Gross inaccuracies in the Bank’s self-reported data make vigorous congressional oversight all the more necessary,” Issa said in a statement on Thursday. “It is time for the Bank to stop stonewalling Congress. I expect full compliance with the Committee’s subpoena.”

The bank’s authorization is up this summer.

An Ex-Im spokesman said that the bank “relies first on self-reporting by exporters of all sizes, as well as a respected business information firm commonly used in the private sector.”

“Beyond that, we are constantly improving our systems to more accurately track the information about the thousands of U.S. businesses that are boosting their overseas sales by utilizing Ex-Im Bank products,” the spokesman said.

This post was updated at 4:56 p.m.