WASHINGTON—With less than one week to go until federal government funding expires, House Republicans unveiled legislation Sunday to fund the government through Dec. 20, and analysts from the Defense Credit Union Council (DCUC) and America’s Credit Unions (ACU) both contend there is little chance an agreement won’t be reached with the November elections nearing.
DCUC Chief Advocacy Officer Jason Stverak said, while expecting the government to “kick the can down the road” again—especially to get past the November elections—that defense credit unions are still watching the situation closely.
“If things were to fall apart, our members come from the military and are always going to be prepared. We're going to make sure that we're encouraging our members to contact their members, making sure they know what services are available,” he said.
ACU Chief Advocacy Officer Carrie Hunt said she is “cautiously optimistic” a shutdown will not occur before the elections.
“The government is going to stay up and running,” Hunt said. “Congress is trying to get out by Friday. We’ll see if that happens.”
NDAA Language
Stverak also shared DCUC’s perspective on the release of National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) language.
“We were waiting with anticipation, or bated breath, for the release of the text of the Senate NDAA, which came out late last week,” he said. “We are very happy that the text does not contain either any amendments in support of the Durban/Marshall Credit Card Competition Act, as well as any amendments that would open up the Federal Credit Union Act and provide Share Insurance Fund coverage for non-members. Obviously, until the president has a final bill and signs it into law, we are not going to let up in our advocacy efforts.”