WASHINGTON–With the 115th Congress in its second week of session this week, the credit union trade groups will be primarily focused on the Senate.
In an issue that indirectly affects credit unions due to the debate around healthcare costs, Senate Republicans will be using fiscal resolutions as a means of defunding the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare.
Later in the week, noted Ryan Donovan, CUNA’s chief advocacy officer, the Senate will engage in what is known informally as “voterama,” a process where numerous amendments are added to the budget resolution.
Donovan said CUNA will be working to track all the amendments and to date hasn’t identified any that would have a direct impact on credit unions, such as language that might affect the tax exemption, “but it requires a lot of diligence. There is not a lot of debate around these amendments.”
Committee assignments and chairmanships in Congress are nearly complete, with Democrats now in the process of finalizing appointments.
Also in the Senate this week will be confirmation hearings for several of President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees, including Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) for attorney general and Ben Carson for secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
The House Financial Services Committee will be focused this week on legislation related to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).