WASHINGTON–Although nearly all the attention in Washington this week will be on non-credit union-related issues, there is a busy agenda of hearings in both the
House and Senate of interest to CUs.
Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former long-time attorney, is scheduled to testify before three congressional committees this week, which will dominate many of the headlines, as will a resolution backed by House Democrats that seeks to block Trump’s declaration of a national emergency related to building a wall along the Mexican border. In addition, the Senate is also considering legislation related to an abortion-related bill, and there are scheduled votes on judicial nominations.
But in addition to all that there are also numerous other hearings scheduled to which credit unions will be paying attention.
“Our intention is focused very squarely in the committees, as usual,” said CUNA’s chief advocacy officer, Ryan Donovan.
The Tuesday Hearings
Among those committee hearings being held today:
- The Senate Banking Committee will vote today on whether to advance the nominations of Rodney Hood and Todd Harper to the NCUA board, as well as the nomination of Dr. Mark Calabria to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).
- Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will testify today and Wednesday, respectively, before Senate and House committees as part of his semi-annual monetary report.
- The House Committee on Financial Services will hold a hearing on “Who’s Keeping Score: Holding Credit Bureaus Accountable and Repairing a Broken System” at which the CEO of Equifax, TransUnion and Experian are all scheduled to testify.
- The House Committee on Energy & Commerce will hold a hearing on “Protecting Consumer Privacy in the Era of Big Data.”
- Today, the House Committee on Appropriations will hold a hearing titled, “Leveraging Private Capital for Underserved Communities and Individuals: A Look Into Community Development Financial Institutions.
Wednesday Hearings
- The House Committee on Appropriations will hold an oversight hearing on U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Programs and Policies.
- The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation will hold a hearing on “Policy Principles for a Federal Data Privacy Framework in the United States.
- The House Committee on Financial Services’ Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion will hold a hearing titled “Overview of Diversity Trends in the Financial Services Industry.”
Thursday Hearing
On Thursday, the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on “Legislative Proposals on Capital Formation and Corporate Governance.”
“There is a lot going on, which makes sense now with the government shutdown behind us,” said Donovan. “We expect to see a similar volume of hearings over the next few weeks.”
CUNA said it will be sending letters to many of the committees in advance of the hearings to outline its positions.