WASHINGTON–The The Credit Union Employee and Member Safety Act of 2021 has been introduced in Congress by Senators Tina Smith (D-MN) and Ben Sasse (R-NE). The legislation seeks to make make credit unions safer for employees and members.
“NAFCU applauds Senators Tina Smith and Ben Sasse for introducing legislation that will bolster consumer protections at credit unions to defend their employees and their members from abusive, fraudulent, and criminal activity," said NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger. “Ensuring credit unions have the ability to address illegal activity or threatening behavior at their institutions is paramount so they can continue to safely and soundly serve their members and local communities. NAFCU strongly supports this bipartisan bill, and we will continue to advocate for Congress to pass these important reforms.”
Added CUNA CEO Jim Nussle, “We thank Sen. Tina Smith and Sen. Ben Sasse for their bipartisan bill that would modernize the Federal Credit Union Act to support staff and member safety. We look forward to working with them to advance this bipartisan legislation so that we can bring credit union governance into the 21st century."
CUNA Urges CFPB to Finalize Rule
Separately, CUNA is calling on the CFPB to implement the debt collection rules it finalized in 2020.
CUNA’s comments were included in a letter sent in response to the Bureau’s proposal to delay the implementation date of the Debt Collection Final Rule.
The Bureau has proposed to delay by 60 days the effective dates of the Debt Collection Final Rules from November 30, 2021, to January 29, 2022.
“...We strongly recommend the Bureau announce its intention to implement the debt collection rules as finalized last year,” the letter reads. “After a reasonable period postimplementation, the CFPB can then analyze the rules’ effects and, with stakeholder input, consider whether additional resources would be beneficial, or amendments needed. The debt collection rules, while imperfect, reflected considerable input from a wide variety of stakeholders.”
According to the CFPB, the proposed delay would allow stakeholders affected by the pandemic additional time to review and implement the rules.