Hillary Clinton has been chided for refusing to detail her policy positions on a number of issues. One she has not been afraid of expressing, however, is her support for the Ex-Im Bank.
During a scripted campaign stop in New Hampshire two weeks ago, Clinton attacked Republicans for their desire to stop funding for the bank. The bank’s charter expires June 30.
"The idea that we would remove this relatively small, but vital funding for our businesses to compete is absolutely backwards," Clinton said. "It is wrong that candidates for president, who really should know better, are jumping on this bandwagon. It’s embarrassing."
Freedom Partners released a clip of Clinton not only expressing support for the bank filled with corruption charges, but saying she wanted the Ex-Im Bank "on steroids."
"We really believe that we can do even more through the Ex-Im Bank and I’m gonna try to encourage that approach. Somebody asked me what I’d like to do—I said I’d like to put the Ex-Im Bank on steroids because I think it does so much good work for American companies and I want American businesses to know that."
IJReview noted that President and Chairman of the Ex-Im Bank Fred Hochberg donated up to $25,000 to the Clinton Foundation and also bundled contributions for her campaign.
The bank’s annual funding has increased to more than $20 billion a year. It uses loan guarantees, working capital guarantees, direct loans, and export-credit insurance to promote exports from U.S. businesses and level the playing field with government subsidized foreign companies.