Renewal of Export-Import Bank Stings Conservative Republicans

Score one for the Republican establishment.

After being on the defensive for months over the renewal of the Export-Import Bank, Washington’s big business interests won a decisive victory on Thursday when Congress voted overwhelmingly to reopen the agency through Sept. 30, 2019, as part of a popular highway bill.

The bank, which provides loan guarantees and other benefits to spur United States exports, had been under sharp attack for months from conservative lawmakers and activists with ties to the Koch brothers’ political network, which assailed it as a form of corporate welfare and crony capitalism. It quickly became a rallying point for groups such as Heritage Action for America, and FreedomWorks, which are taking aim at the longstanding tie between Republicans and the business lobby led by the United States Chamber of Commerce.

But a clear congressional majority of Republicans and Democrats swung behind the bank and managed to save it, partly with the help of a rare procedural move that forced the House to take up legislation resurrecting the agency.

Conservatives were stung by the loss, yet another example of how difficult eliminating any federal entity can be. But they were cheered by new Speaker Paul D. Ryan’s remarks on Thursday that government policy should be free of loopholes and “reward good works instead of good connections.” They said they hoped to push their message of no favoritism, even for interests traditionally friendly to Republicans, into the 2016 debates over tax policy and other issues.