ARLINGTON, Va.–With Congress in recess, NAFCU said it is already looking ahead to September and the return of Congress, where a key focus will remain on opposition to the Credit Card Competition Act.
But that isn’t the only bill in front of Congress and much more is on the trade group’s radar, according to VP-Legislative Affairs Brad Thaler. In particular, Congress will again be absorbed by funding measures that have to pass—or are supposed to—and which are often vehicles for carrying other legislation. Those include supplemental appropriations and even aid for fire-stricken Hawaii, said Thaler.
“It would be incumbent for Congress to act,” said Thaler, before acknowledging the situation is complicated by the divisions among House and Senate.
A government shutdown in the Fall is “always a possibility,” he noted.
The Interchange Fight
Meanwhile, on the financial services side, the fight over interchange is only expected to pick up strength this Autumn.
“We were able to keep the Credit Card Competition Act out of the National Defense Authorization Act, but we expect there will continue to be a push by proponents to try to attach it to the legislation in the Fall,” said Thaler. “In particular, if the banking executive pay bill comes to the Senate floor or even potentially if marijuana banking were to emerge on the Senate floor, both of those could be banking bills that supporters could try to attach the Credit Card Competition Act. That gives us another amendment fight, so we continue to work with our members in terms of weighing in with lawmakers on how the Credit Card Competition Act is bad policy and how harmful it will be for consumers and community institutions.”
Also Being Watched
Thaler said NAFCU is also watching the CDFI Fund Transparency Act, which would require the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund director to testify annually before the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee.
Court Grants CU Motion in CFPB Case
Separately, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas granted the motion to intervene filed by CUNA, the Cornerstone League, and Rally Credit Union in a case over the CFPB’s section 1071 rule, which concerns the collection of certain data on loan applications from small businesses.
The court’s order paves the way for CUNA, Cornerstone, and Rally, now intervenors in the case, to file a motion to ensure the injunction applies to credit unions, CUNA said.
“This decision is a step in the right direction, but there is more to be done to ensure credit unions have parity with banks when it comes to implementation of the CFPB’s 1071 rule,” said CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle. “The constitutional questions under consideration by the Supreme Court have direct bearing on the CFPB’s authority to issue the rule, and we will file another motion shortly to ensure equal protection of credit unions while these underlying legal issues are addressed.”
CUNA added the motion to intervene emphasized the need for consistency in implementation of this rule, particularly as the additional data collection presents increased costs, compliance resources, and training for covered institutions.
An earlier CUToday.info report is available here.