Export-Import Bank chief warns Bush's budget too small to fill bill.(Chicago Tribune)

WASHINGTON_John Robson, the new president of the Export-Import Bank, told Congress Wednesday that President Bush's budget request this year likely would be too small to meet demand for the agency's politically popular export loan guarantees.

If that happens, he said, the bank would have to put some projects on hold until funds are available_a prospect not apt to sit well in a Congress where support for the bank has been generally strong.

Though some critics see it as a symbol of "corporate welfare," the Export-Import Bank helps thousands of American businesses, big and small, sell their products overseas by guaranteeing up to 85 percent of export loans or …