WASHINGTON—With a new, Republican-controlled Congress convening Tuesday, credit unions will be paying particular attention to how leadership positions will be filled, committee assignments made, and what all that means to CU-backed priorities.
Among the issues that will have both direct and indirect fallout for credit unions in the 114th Congress will be the fate of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which is in the crosshairs of Republicans, as well as some of the financial regulatory restrictions Democrats and President Obama have put in place.
Fifty-eight new members of the House of Representatives and 13 senators will take the oath of office for the first time on Tuesday. “While there is a lot of ceremony surrounding the first day of Congress, there is important business,” said CUNA’s Ryan Donovan.
Donovan pointed out that the House is expected to elect John Boehner (R-OH) speaker for a third consecutive term and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) Senate president pro tem.
“The Senate will also elect new officers for several chamber positions, and the rules package for the 114th Congress will be considered,” said Donovan.
The ACA has impacted credit union offerings to employees, and to members—with some CUs partnering with private health insurance exchanges. While the ACA is now a target of Republican efforts to defund the initiative, the GOP will be able to do little more that nip at the fringes of the Act, predict analysts in an upcoming CUToday.info report on health insurance.
In addition to the ACA, other items expected to be on the agenda are the Keystone Pipeline, immigration and funding for the Department of Homeland Security, said Donovan.
Richard Gose, SVP of political affairs, emphasized CUNA was involved in 396 races in the past election cycle with 95% success rate. He expects 2016 to be “a heated election. Now is a good opportunity for us to go back, make friends and really connect. We broke a lot of new barriers with our activities during this past election, and we will redouble our efforts for 2016.”
In other news, CUNA SVP and Deputy General Counsel Mary Dunn is predicting that the new CU capital rules proposal should be unveiled by NCUA by mid-month. “We do not have the agency’s agenda yet, but all indications are that risk-based capital will be on the January 15 agenda.”
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