Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), chair of the House Financial Services Committee, says it’s time to close down the Export-Import Bank. There are many reasons, he says, including that it costs taxpayers money needlessly, but, more important, it politicizes trade. “Ultimately, this is about bureaucrats making decisions about credit allocations,” Hensarling said, “and not free people in a competitive marketplace. They do ideological lending,” Hensarling continued. “I mean, they’ve got a ‘green’ quota. They have a no-coal policy. They have a sub-Sahara African lending mandate. … And then, there’s all the cronyism.” And unfortunately, that’s precisely why it will be so difficult to close Ex-Im. More…