Editor's Note: This story has been updated since being originally reported.
WASHINGTON—The House has passed 350-80 the $858-billion fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act after making several concessions. The final legislation, which includes a 4.6% raise for troops, does not include several credit union-opposed provisions. It is now headed to the Senate.
As CUToday.info has been reporting, credit unions have expressed strong opposition to having language inserted in the bill that would grant NCUA third-party vendor authority or extend debit interchange routing requirements to credit cards, the latter being represented by the Credit Card Competition Act that has drawn “vehement” opposition from CUs and other financial trade groups even as it has drawn equally strong support from the nation’s retailers.
According to NAFCU, neither provision is included in the versions of the NDAA released by the two committees.
NAFCU said its analysis has found there are some “positive provisions,” including language that seeks to strengthen fair hiring practices at insured financial institutions, and another that requires data published by the NCUA and other financial regulators to be free and easily accessible.
Other Provisions
There is also a requirement for the Federal Reserve to create a database of institutions that have requested access to a Fed master account and services, NAFCU said, noting the Fed last month proposed a rule to periodically publish a list of depository institutions that have Fed account access in an effort to be more transparent about who has access to its payment rails, NAFCU noted.
The House is expected to vote on the huge NDAA legislation this week, after which it will head to the Senate for approval.
A Big Unknown
What remains unknown is whether language drawn from the SAFE Banking Act, which would permit financial institutions to serve cannabis-related businesses in states that have legalized pot, will be included. As CUToday.info reported here, there are some strong opponents of the SAFE Act’s proposed provisions, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who said, “We’re talking about a grab bag of miscellaneous pet priorities, like making our financial system more sympathetic to illegal drugs…”
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