Week ahead: Ex-Im chief on the hot seat

Export-Import Bank President Fred Hochberg will be in full defense mode on Capitol Hill with just a month left until the bank’s charter is set to expire.

Hochberg is scheduled to testify before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday and the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday.

He can expect a grilling before the Financial Services panel, whose chairman, Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), is one of the bank’s biggest opponents.

{mosads}Tea Partyers accuse the bank of corporate cronyism, but supporters say it is essential to opening markets for U.S companies.

On Tuesday, the Senate Banking Committee will have a separate hearing on the Export-Import Bank that hears testimony from George Mason University senior research fellow Veronique de Rugy, a chief critic of the bank.

Linda Dempsey, National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) vice president of international affairs, will also testify. She is a prominent supporter of the bank.

The fight over fast-track also heads to the House, with lawmakers expecting a full-court press from both sides in the contentious trade debate.

Labor groups are ramping up pressure to block a trade promotion authority bill that would boost President Obama’s negotiating powers and allow him to quickly close the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership deal under negotiation.

Only a small number of House Democrats are supporting the bill despite Obama’s lobbying. Progressives worry it will be bad for U.S. workers. And Labor groups are vowing to ramp up the pressure to kill the measure in the House.

Republican leaders back fast-track, but they face concerns from conservatives opposed to expanding Obama’s executive power.

Supporters hope to quickly move the bill, but the contentious fight could drag into the summer.

The Senate Finance Committee will also hold a hearing on the recent data breach at the IRS on Tuesday. The hearing is titled “Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Data Theft Affecting Taxpayer Information.” IRS Commissioner John Koskinen will testify.

The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance will have a hearing also on Tuesday, dubbed: “The National Flood Insurance Program: Oversight of Superstorm Sandy Claims.” Brad Kieserman, a deputy associate administrator at the Federal Emergency Management Administration, is scheduled to testify.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker will speak at a NAM conference on Tuesday at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. She will discuss manufacturing policy.

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