WASHINGTON–It’s going to be a busy week in Congress, with one CU CEO to testify at one of several hearings of interest to CUs, and the House Ways & Means Committee is scheduled to release plans around tax reform.
In the case of the House committee, on Wednesday it will be releasing its tax reform proposals, which are aimed at offering tax cuts and which are a priority for President Trump. To date, the credit union tax exemption has not been targeted even as both sides of Congress have sought ways to offset costs to the budget of tax decreases.
“It will be one of the bigger things we will be watching,” said Ryan Donovan, chief advocacy officer with CUNA.
On Wednesday, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit will hold a hearing at which Debra Schwartz, president and CEO of Mission Federal Credit Union in San Diego and NAFCU board treasurer, will testify. The hearing, "Data Security: Vulnerabilities and Opportunities for Improvement," is to begin Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET.
NAFCU noted that it has been a leading advocate for a national data security standard that holds all entities that handle personal financial data to the same standards as credit unions and other depository institutions under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. The association has repeatedly called for action to ensure that credit unions do not bear the cost of negligent data practices by any entity.
Schwartz will discuss how the lack of a national data security standard has impacted her credit union. She will also outline NAFCU's key data security principles for the subcommittee, which include the association's view that payment of breach costs should be covered by the breached entity, NAFCU explained.
On Friday, the Financial Services Committee will also be holding a hearing on legislative proposals to improve access by small businesses to capital.