Republicans accuse Ex-Im chief of skirting mandates

Republicans on Thursday accused Export-Import Bank President Fred Hochberg of failing to implement reforms mandated by Congress in 2012.

In 2012, Congress reauthorized the bank but required that Treasury Department officials work with administration and international officials to eventually wind it down — and others like it worldwide.

{mosads}At a House hearing on the issue Thursday, Republicans pressed Hochberg for why he hasn’t done more to contribute to those discussions.

“Did you ever talk about winding down the bank?” Rep. Mia Love (R-Utah) asked Hochberg during the more than three-hour hearing organized by two House subcommittees.

“No,” Hochberg said, while insisting that his team has fully complied with Congress.

Hochberg said during the hearing that has plans to meet with his “colleagues” sometime in the next 10 days about the issue, but he didn’t go into specifics.

“I am talking to my colleagues about it,” Hochberg said.

Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) said that the bank is on “life support” and criticized Hochberg and Treasury officials for not implementing all of the mandated reforms that were attached to the 2012 reauthorization.

“What happened?” Gowdy asked. “If you can’t answer that question then you might as well call the coroner. But you’re the one people are going to be looking to.”

Love said after the hearing in an interview that she was “waiting to see how it played out” but also raised concerns about the bank.

“It doesn’t seem like they’re taking Congress’s direction, so I have a problem with that,” Love said after the hearing. “Any CEO of any company would be fired for that type of behavior and I think we have to hold these people accountable.”

Republicans are grappling with whether to join Democrats in reauthorizing the bank’s charter before it expires on June 30. Tea Party groups and their allies say the bank is corporate welfare, while other Republicans and Democrats say it helps sustain U.S. jobs. 

This story was updated on Friday at 12:28 p.m. to clatify the nature of the Republican accusations.