Tea Party In A Pickle Over Ex-Im Bank

Posted by | July 19, 2014 15:00 | Filed under: Contributors Eric Trommater News Behaving Badly Opinion Politics Top Stories


Republican chairman of the House Financial Services Committee Jeb Hensarling’s ongoing attempts to defund the Export-Import bank are in a bit of a pickle this week.

Back in May at a Heritage Foundation event, the Texas Representative cited Kernersville, North Carolina pickle company Jenny’s Pickles and its co-founder Jenny Fulton among examples of businesses that receive no benefit from the government agency that provides loan guarantees and insurance overseas to help provide markets for American exports.

“I’ve never met Ms. Fulton, but I’m sure she’s a fine lady who exports a good pickle,” Hensarling stated. “Ms. Fulton and small business owners like her are not the significant beneficiaries of the Ex-Im Bank.”

With the September 20th expiration of the Bank’s charter looming, those comments have now drawn the ire of Ms. Fulton herself who sent a letter to Hensarling stating that she is in fact a beneficiary of the bank and supports renewing her charter.

As reported by Politico:

“It seems that you’ve been talking a lot about me over the last few months and I’d like to set a few things straight. First, I do export a good pickle!!” the letter, printed on Miss Jenny’s Pickles stationary and obtained by POLITICO, begins.

Fulton goes on to say that if Ex-Im is shut down this year, small businesses like hers “will NOT be fine.”

“You see, small businesses don’t usually get loans from Ex-Im. We get loans from our private banks,” Fulton wrote. “When determining how much we can borrow, they don’t count our export receivables so we can’t finance our foreign buyers. With Ex-Im credit insurance, we can extend terms to those customers. Which, I pay a fee to Ex-Im for the credit insurance it is NOT a handout.”

The Export-Import Bank, in FY 2013, approved more than $27 billion in total authorizations to support an estimated $37.4 billion in U.S. export sales. Approximately 205,000 American jobs were created last year by Ex-Im Bank backed transactions.

Here’s that Arlo Guthrie song about pickles:

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Copyright 2014 Liberaland
By: Eric Trommater

A liberal living in Northern Virginia. Father of Two great kids. Former sports writer and movie critic.

58 responses to Tea Party In A Pickle Over Ex-Im Bank

  1. Anomaly 100 July 19th, 2014 at 15:05

    I loves me some pickles.

  2. Anomaly 100 July 19th, 2014 at 15:05

    I loves me some pickles.

  3. Carla Akins July 19th, 2014 at 15:07

    You can’t really expect Hensarling to understand financial stuff, can you?

    • Eric Trommater July 19th, 2014 at 15:13

      Hensarling is an odd duck. Depending on the day he is either deliberate no-nothing conspiracy theorist or a wonky stuffed shirt spouting numbers. I think it depends on which script the Koch brothers send him that day.

  4. Carla Akins July 19th, 2014 at 15:07

    You can’t really expect Hensarling to understand financial stuff, can you?

    • Eric Trommater July 19th, 2014 at 15:13

      Hensarling is an odd duck. Depending on the day he is either deliberate no-nothing conspiracy theorist or a wonky stuffed shirt spouting numbers. I think it depends on which script the Koch brothers send him that day.

  5. Denise July 19th, 2014 at 15:09

    sounds like he is in a bit of a pickle. republicans are just f©©©©©g stupid!!

    • Eric Trommater July 19th, 2014 at 15:19

      Pickle pun thread anyone? I’m sure you can think of a dilly. Feel free to chip in. :p

      • Herb Sarge Phelps July 19th, 2014 at 15:20

        this guy sounds more sour than a sour pickle.

        • Eric Trommater July 19th, 2014 at 15:22

          Tea Partiers aren’t born bad, society makes them that way.

          • Herb Sarge Phelps July 19th, 2014 at 15:23

            I prefer to call them Flea Partiers because they are Foolish Lunatics Endangering America that sucks the blood of life out of our nation.

      • edmeyer_able July 19th, 2014 at 15:46

        Starting to relish this topic.

  6. Denise July 19th, 2014 at 15:09

    sounds like he is in a bit of a pickle. republicans are just f©©©©©g stupid!!

    • Eric Trommater July 19th, 2014 at 15:19

      Pickle pun thread anyone? I’m sure you can think of a dilly. Feel free to chip in. :p

      • Herb Sarge Phelps July 19th, 2014 at 15:20

        this guy sounds more sour than a sour pickle.

        • Eric Trommater July 19th, 2014 at 15:22

          Tea Partiers aren’t born bad, society makes them that way.

          • Herb Sarge Phelps July 19th, 2014 at 15:23

            I prefer to call them Flea Partiers because they are Foolish Lunatics Endangering America that sucks the blood of life out of our nation.

      • edmeyer_able July 19th, 2014 at 15:46

        Starting to relish this topic.

  7. Herb Sarge Phelps July 19th, 2014 at 15:15

    Amazing how they just pull stuff out of their butts without knowing squat. I just had a discussion with a right wing moron at media matters who when faced with facts about my history ignored stuff he read about me and mentioned only what he thought was not so big. Problem was he didn’t have that right either. When confronted with the actual facts he then tried to accuse me of bragging. They are a waste of DNA and a cancer on our nation.

  8. Herb Sarge Phelps July 19th, 2014 at 15:15

    Amazing how they just pull stuff out of their butts without knowing squat. I just had a discussion with a right wing moron at media matters who when faced with facts about my history ignored stuff he read about me and mentioned only what he thought was not so big. Problem was he didn’t have that right either. When confronted with the actual facts he then tried to accuse me of bragging. They are a waste of DNA and a cancer on our nation.

  9. Obewon July 19th, 2014 at 15:20

    If it’s good for American Jobs and grows U.S. record $16.2 T GDP then it’s bad news for today’s repubs. $27 B in guarantees supports $37.4 B in U.S. export sales creating +205,000 American jobs last year by Ex-Im Bank. That’s nearly a 50% Return on investment guarantees that employ 205K U.S. Taxpayers!

    • Eric Trommater July 19th, 2014 at 15:24

      Yes the facts are quite . . . wait for it . . . jarring

      • Obewon July 19th, 2014 at 15:30

        Comparing +205,000 annually created U.S. Ex-Im private jobs, is also nearly +50% greater than GWB’s 1.1 M eight year total private jobs created. https://www.flickr.com/photos/speakerpelosi/13630053153/in/photostream/

        • Eric Trommater July 19th, 2014 at 15:35

          . . . . and at a much lower cost to tax payers than the two unpaid for wars it took Bush to get his pathetic job creations numbers as artificially high as they even are perceived.

          • Obewon July 19th, 2014 at 15:43

            Just think funding the Ex-Im for 200 years repays taxpayers for the $6 T Halliburton Iraq bailout!

            • Eric Trommater July 19th, 2014 at 15:47

              For six trillion dollars you would have thought they could have given the place running water and electricity. What’s up with that?

              • Obewon July 19th, 2014 at 15:52

                Remember those pallets of cash contractors threw around like footballs? That and billions in Halliburton’s admitted U.S. billing frauds drove the bills sky-high!

                Iraq desalination is Phase-II for Jeb Bush / Cheney.

                • Eric Trommater July 19th, 2014 at 15:57

                  Naw, invading sovereign nations that pose no threat to our national security under a trumped up guise is so last week. It’s all about exacerbating destabilizing regional conflicts to prop up weak puppet leadership and sell security services to both sides these days. That’s so hot right now!

          • tiredoftea July 19th, 2014 at 16:04

            There are no costs to taxpayers. Ex-Im is entirely funded by the fees it charges for insuring the transactions.

      • edmeyer_able July 19th, 2014 at 15:41

        Can it already!!

  10. Obewon July 19th, 2014 at 15:20

    If it’s good for American Jobs and grows U.S. record $16.2 T GDP then it’s bad news for today’s repubs. $27 B in “Ex-Im credit insurance” supports $37.4 B in U.S. export sales creating +205,000 American jobs last year by Ex-Im Bank fee profit surpluses! That’s nearly a 50% Return on investment guarantees that employ 205K U.S. Taxpayers!

    • Eric Trommater July 19th, 2014 at 15:24

      Yes the facts are quite . . . wait for it . . . jarring

      • Obewon July 19th, 2014 at 15:30

        Comparing +205,000 annually created U.S. Ex-Im private jobs over 8 years = 1.64 M jobs, is also +50% greater than GWB’s 1.1 M eight year total private jobs created. https://www.flickr.com/photos/speakerpelosi/13630053153/in/photostream/

        • Eric Trommater July 19th, 2014 at 15:35

          . . . . and at a much lower cost to tax payers than the two unpaid for wars it took Bush to get his pathetic job creations numbers as artificially high as they even are perceived.

          • Obewon July 19th, 2014 at 15:43

            Just think funding the Ex-Im for 200 years repays taxpayers for the $6 T Halliburton Iraq bailout!

            • Eric Trommater July 19th, 2014 at 15:47

              For six trillion dollars you would have thought they could have given the place running water and electricity. What’s up with that?

              • Obewon July 19th, 2014 at 15:52

                Remember those pallets of cash contractors threw around like footballs? That and billions in Halliburton’s admitted U.S. billing frauds drove those bills sky-high!

                Iraq desalination is Phase-II for Jeb Bush / Cheney.

                • Eric Trommater July 19th, 2014 at 15:57

                  Naw, invading sovereign nations that pose no threat to our national security under a trumped up guise is so last week. It’s all about exacerbating destabilizing regional conflicts to prop up weak puppet leadership and sell security services to both sides these days. That’s so hot right now!

          • tiredoftea July 19th, 2014 at 16:04

            There are no costs to taxpayers. Ex-Im is entirely funded by the fees it charges for insuring the transactions.

      • edmeyer_able July 19th, 2014 at 15:41

        Can it already!!

  11. Eric Trommater July 19th, 2014 at 15:37

    This was going to be the featured pic before I went all Photoshop happy and made the one I used.

  12. Eric Trommater July 19th, 2014 at 15:37

    This was going to be the featured pic before I went all Photoshop happy and made the one I used.

  13. Guest July 19th, 2014 at 15:38

    Sorry this was

  14. Guest July 19th, 2014 at 15:38

    Sorry this was

  15. tiredoftea July 19th, 2014 at 16:09

    The Jebster is following Issa’s lead with this. Issa’s in a pickle about Benghazi going to Gowdy and losing the Oversight Committee after this Congressional session is called. Issa wants another postal service moment by killing Ex-Im, no matter the cost to U.S. jobs and the economy.

    • Eric Trommater July 19th, 2014 at 16:15

      They will probably add a bunch of fake costs to Ex-Im like they did USPS to try and strangle it into submission. The only agencies in the government that were able to turn a profit both getting scrap heaped by the GOP. Anyone else see a pattern?

      • tiredoftea July 19th, 2014 at 16:17

        Yeah, the pattern is to destroy our country and blame it on Obama!

  16. tiredoftea July 19th, 2014 at 16:09

    The Jebster is following Issa’s lead with this. Issa’s in a pickle about Benghazi going to Gowdy and losing the Oversight Committee after this Congressional session is called. Issa wants another postal service moment by killing Ex-Im, no matter the cost to U.S. jobs and the economy.

    • Eric Trommater July 19th, 2014 at 16:15

      They will probably add a bunch of fake costs to Ex-Im like they did USPS to try and strangle it into submission. The only agencies in the government that were able to turn a profit both getting scrap heaped by the GOP. Anyone else see a pattern?

      • tiredoftea July 19th, 2014 at 16:17

        Yeah, the pattern is to destroy our country and blame it on Obama!

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