WASHINGTON—The Senate Appropriations Committee has unveiled the chairman’s mark on the fiscal year 2018 financial services and general government appropriations bill, which, in a win for credit unions, includes full funding for the Community Development Financial Institution Fund (CDFI) and Community Development Revolving Loan Fund (CDRLF).
It also brings the CFPB under the congressional appropriations process, NAFCU reported.
President Donald Trump's proposed FY2018 budget, released in May, had eliminated funding for the CDFI and CDRLF grants, which NAFCU noted it had raised concerns with and vowed to work with Congress to protect. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Thad Cochran (R-MI) recommends funding the CDFI at $248 million and the CDRLF at $2 million in his chairman's mark on the bill, NAFCU reported.
In a letter sent to a Senate Appropriations subcommittee last week, NAFCU Vice President of Legislative Affairs Brad Thaler recommended fully funding these programs to ensure credit unions can continue to provide financial stability for low-income members and their families.
"CDFI credit unions predominantly serve low-income areas and other target markets, often being the only financial services option for consumers that live paycheck to paycheck," Thaler wrote. "The CDFI Fund grant program helps credit unions serve communities and consumers that large banks do not focus on."
Under the chairman's mark, the CFPB would be subject to the congressional appropriations process. The chairman's mark also provides $886.3 million to the Small Business Administration (SBA); it fully funds the SBA's business loans program at $156.2 million and provides $186.5 million for disaster-related loans, NAFCU reported.