WASHINGTON–During remarks to NAFCU’s Congressional Caucus, Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) blasted Democrats for spending trillions of dollars on “so-called” COVID recovery measures, called for support for a credit union-related bill he is co-sponsoring, and urged more support for Republican candidates in the mid-term elections.
While much of the spending to date on COVID-related relief measures occurred during the previous Republican administration, Emmer pointed to the $1.3-trillion infrastructure package and $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation working through Congress and reminded that the country is approaching the federal debt ceiling.
“These Democratic spending sprees have already had a serious impact that Americans,” Emmer said in virtual remarks to the meeting. “It’s no secret inflation is getting worse. It's a hidden tax.
‘Unfortunate Reality’
Meanwhile, said Emmer, financial institutions “face the unfortunate reality of more burdensome regulation. It’s imperative the government takes steps to make your work easier and cut down on burdensome regulations.”
For that reason, said Emmer, he is co-sponsoring the Credit Union Governance Modernization Act, as CUToday.info reported here, which would update the credit union member expulsion process while seeking to ensure a fair procedure for reinstatement.
Opposition to IRS Proposal
“On a different note, this administration is trying to push massive IRS reporting obligations on our credit unions banks and other financial institutions at the expense of these financial institutions and at the expense of Americans privacy,” said Emmer, reporting to language in the current spending bill in Congress that would require financial institutions to report information about the outflows and inflows on accounts over $600 to the IRS every year.
“It’s ridiculous. Talk about government overreach,” said Emmer. “The IRS has had a number of data breaches and cybersecurity attacks if it can't handle the data it already has why should we give it more?”
Both CUNA and NAFCU have expressed opposition to the proposal.
Calls for Support of Republicans
Finally, Emmer, who is also chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, the campaign arm of the Republican Conference, said he believes his party is well-positioned to win back the House in 2022.
“I have good news. We now have 710 Republicans filed to run in 368 of the 435 congressional districts around the country,” he said. “We're doing pretty well and I think we're working hard to lay the foundation for success in the next 14 months…We also need the right message that the Democrats’ solution to the many challenges facing our nation, like rising inflation, increased crime…and the ongoing pandemic continues to be more government intervention in our lives.”