Texas lawmaker mounts stand against Export-Import Bank

McClatchy reports:

Texas is the nation’s No. 1 exporting state, yet the No. 1 opponent of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, which finances American exports, is a Texan.

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, is leading an effort in Congress that would eliminate the bank. If lawmakers do not reauthorize the bank’s charter by June 30, it will stop issuing new credits and begin to wind down operations.

And it now appears that Hensarling and other opponents, who see the bank as emblematic of “crony capitalism,” have the advantage.

“I think the momentum’s in our favor,” Hensarling said in an interview, meaning bank critics are poised to block any effort to keep the institution alive. “We’ve had a lot of practice at doing nothing in Congress.”

The struggle against the rent-seeking society.