WASHINGTON—Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-SC) has introduced legislation that would require the Government Accountability Office to study almost every aspect of NCUA’s budgeting and expenditure practices.
Titled the “NCUA Budget Transparency Act,” Mulvaney’s bill would require the GAO to undertake an in-depth review of the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, Temporary Corporate Credit Union Stabilization Fund, Central Liquidity Facility, and NCUA’s annual operating budget. GAO would include in its final report any recommendations it had for improving transparency at the agency.
“Rep. Mulvaney and his staff have worked tirelessly to ensure effective congressional oversight of financial regulators,” said NAFCU Director of Legislative Affairs Jillian Pevo said in a statement. “This bill is an important step toward providing more clarity about how NCUA is spending credit union dollars to fund its operations. We look forward to working with Congress to ensure the study envisioned in this bill comes to fruition.”
Pevo said Mulvaney’s NAFCU-supported bill would be a key step toward ensuring real transparency at NCUA.
Brad Thaler, NAFCU VP of legislative affairs reminded that budget transparency is something the trade association has been pushing for from NCUA.
"NAFCU and our members believe there is need for greater scrutiny and transparency in NCUA's budget process because fundamentally all credit unions have a right to know where their dollars are going and how they are being spent,” Thaler told CUToday.info. “As stewards of their members' money, credit unions deserve a better understanding of how the agency is allocating and spending the dollars that they are trusting NCUA with each year."