WASHINGTON—Several CARES Act provisions designed to assist in pandemic recovery should be extended for at least a year beyond the scheduled Dec. 31, 2020, sunset date, CUNA wrote to the Senate Banking Committee.
The committee conducted a hearing this week on implementation of Title IV of the CARES Act, and CUNA’s letter was submitted for its record.
CUNA said it believes the following CARES Act provisions should be extended at least one year beyond the scheduled Dec. 31, 2020 sunset date:
- Troubled debt restructuring compliance relief for financial institutions, which allows credit unions to modify troubled and other loans in relation to COVID-19
- Expanded borrowing authority of the Central Liquidity Facility. CUNA also called for Congress to expand its borrowing authority to 25 times the amount paid in (up from the current 16 times)
- Authority provided to NCUA to increase federal insurance noninterest bearing transaction accounts.
CU-Backed Candidates Win Races
Separately, candidates in this week’s primary elections who had the backing of credit unions have won their races.
As CUToday.info reported, CUNA’s PAC, the Credit Union Legislative Action Council (CULAC), and state leagues threw their financial and other support behind 39 candidates from eight states during Tuesday’s primary elections. Ballots in several states were still coming through in several races as of Wednesday morning.
CUNA had earlier indicated it was paying particular attention to three races, including:
- Rep. Ben Ray Luján (D) won the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate from New Mexico
- Attorney Teresa Leger Fernandez (D) won 42% of the vote in New Mexico’s 3rd Congressional District
- In Maryland’s 7th congressional district, Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D) was on the Democratic primary ballot for a full-term next Congress. Following his special election win on April 28 to fill the vacant seat of the late Elijah Cummings, Mfume saw a win in his race with 81% of the vote