Tea Party group ‘disappointed’ with Ex-Im backers

A prominent Tea Party group on Monday sent a critical letter to House Republicans who are supporting Rep. Stephen Fincher’s (R-Tenn.) five-year reauthorization proposal for the Export-Import Bank.

Americans for Prosperity vice president for government affairs Brent Gardner criticized the lawmakers for supporting what he called “deeply flawed legislation.”

{mosads}“The Export-Import bank epitomizes corporate welfare by taking hard-earned tax dollars from working Americans and handing it over to huge corporations and foreign-owned firms,” Gardner said in a statement. “We are disappointed to see 57 Republicans who claim to stand for fiscal responsibility add their names to this piece of legislation.”

Fincher and 57 other Republicans are backing a bill that would extend the bank’s charter while adding reforms that they say would boost transparency.

That’s drawn the ire of Tea Party groups such as American for Prosperity and Heritage Action, which say the bank is corporate welfare and cronyism designed to help big businesses such as Boeing.

Centrist Republicans and Democrats, on the other hand, say that the bank is needed to sustain millions of U.S. jobs and help business officials make inroads in foreign markets where they can’t receive financing through the private market.

The bank will shut down on June 30 unless Congress votes to reauthorize its charter.

House Financial Services Committee chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) is a top opponent of the bank. His panel holds jurisdiction over moving a reauthorization bill, and he hasn’t said whether he will move Fincher’s bill.

Earlier this month, Heritage Action officials took aim at Fincher’s supporters as well.