(GAO, Washington, 13 June 2013) Ex-Im’s Business Plan concluded that the exposure limits in the Reauthorization Act were appropriate, but GAO’s May 2013 report found weaknesses in the methodology Ex-Im used to justify that conclusion. In a 30 May 2013 report, GAO found that although Ex-Im’s forecast model is sensitive to key assumptions, GAO found that Ex-Im did not reassess these assumptions to reflect changing conditions or conduct sensitivity analyses to assess and report the range of potential outcomes. GAO used historical data in lieu of these assumptions and found that Ex-Im’s forecast of exposure could be higher than the limit set by Congress for 2014. During a 13 June 2013 hearing, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) announced his opposition to the Export-Import Bank and questioned the bank’s place in the free-market system. Hensarling said he disagrees with people who say the bank is self-sustaining and does not pose a high risk to taxpayers… In a 6 June 2013 20-2 vote, the Senate Banking Committee approved the nomination of Fred Hochberg as the president of the U.S. Export-Import Bank for a second term.
