Johnson, Walker Encouraged End of Export-Import Bank in Past
Madison – News that forty-two Republicans joined with almost every Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives on a discharge petition to force reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank continues to raise questions over the political games Senator Johnson and Governor Walker played on behalf of the Club for Growth and Koch brothers.
A New York Times article yesterday noted that Republican opponents of the program are planning procedural maneuvers to block attempts to reauthorize it this week.
Martha Laning, Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, called on Senator Ron Johnson and Governor Scott Walker to condemn the political games they’ve supported in the past and fix the mess they created by encouraging the end of the bank.
“The Export-Import Bank used to be a noncontroversial program to support U.S. jobs until the Club for Growth made it a priority to get rid of it. If Governor Walker and Senator Johnson had not taken orders from the Koch Brothers to oppose the Export-Import Bank in the first place, there wouldn’t be hundreds of Wisconsin families losing their jobs at GE in Waukesha,” said Laning.
Last month GE announced that it would move 350 Wisconsin jobs to Canada because Congress had allowed the Export-Import bank to expire earlier this year. In 2012 Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) was one of only twenty senators to vote against reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank. Johnson received a “Full Flop” rating from Politifact for his too little too late switch in positions.
“The news that 350 good-paying jobs in Waukesha are moving to Canada should be a wake up call to any politician who said we should end funding for the Export-Import Bank. They need to take action now to fix the mess they created before more Wisconsinites lose their job,” said Laning.
After his failed bid for president, Governor Scott Walker blamed Congress for not reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank even though he told the Club For Growth that he would eliminate it. As recently as July 27th, the Washington Post noted that Walker was a “bandwagon anti-Ex-Im crusader” because he took up the cause while running for president. Two months later, GE announced it was sending 350 jobs to Canada.
“It’s time for Congress stop playing games with American jobs and work together to get this important business tool reauthorized,” said Laning.
