Paul Ryan, Eximbank, and the art of pre-emptive surrender

Yesterday Meghan posted on the continuing battle over reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank (Eximbank).   Shortly after that post, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan essentially throw in the towel on Eximbank (h/t: Export-Import Bank Today):

When it returns in September, Congress will have a handful of work days — likely between eight and 12 — during which it needs to tackle two bills that need to be addressed by a Sept. 30 deadline.

The first is a continuing resolution to keep the government operating and prevent it from shutting down. The second, which some have speculated could be thrown into the continuing-resolution debate, is a bill that would reauthorize the charter of the Export-Import Bank, the future of which has been hotly debated among Republicans in Congress.

Some Senate aides had thrown around the possibility of Senate Democrats could attach the bank’s reauthorization to the continuing resolution, forcing another game of chicken between House Republicans and Senate Democrats with days to go before another shutdown.

Ryan is no fan of the Export-Import Bank, telling Business Insider it’s a “chapter in the story of crony capitalism.” But he said he expects the fight over the bank to linger into next year, with the likely outcome being a short-term reauthorization.

“Many of us who are critical of the bank feel that the wisest course is to carry this fight into next year,” said Ryan, whose new book, “The Way Forward,” was released this week.

“No, there will not be a government shutdown,” Ryan added. “If there is a government shutdown, it’ll be because the Democrats brought it about.”

Note that the story does not say that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has definitely decided to attach Export-Import Bank reauthorization to the continuing resolution, only that the some Senate aides have considered the idea. But now that a prominent Republican leader has said that the House GOP leadership will not oppose any effort by Reid to attach a “short-term” expansion of EximBank to the CR Reid hs every reason to attach EximBank–and any other measure Reid thinks can’t pass the House as a stand-alone bill– to the CR.

Campaign for Liberty will continue to fight all efforts to reauthorize EximBank.