WASHINGTON–It could shape up to be a “pretty big week for legislative activity” in Washington, according to CUNA’s Ryan Donovan.
Both the House and Senate are in session, and there are numerous matters of interest to credit unions before both bodies, said Donovan, the trade group’s chief advocacy officer.
The House will be considering four appropriations bills, one of which is a minibus bill that has had swept into it funding packages involving six FY 2021 spending bills: Defense, Commerce-Justice-Science, Energy and Water Development, Financial Services and General Government, Labor-HHS-Education, and Transportation-Housing and Urban Development.
That legislation will include funding for NCUA’s Community Development Revolving Loan Fund and Treasury’s CDFI Fund.
“We will be keeping an eye out for the report language the committees send,” said Donovan. “We have bene engaged with the committees on that.”
Included in some of the three other appropriations bills is language for the Cooperative Development program, which the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) uses for some of its projects.
The House is also scheduled to mark-up a number of bills this week.
Hearings Being Watched
In addition to pending administration nominations, the Senate will also be considering the giant infrastructure bill being championed by the Biden Administration.
Meanwhile, Donovan said CUNA is watching the following hearings this week:
Today
- Senate Banking Committee Subcommittee: Protecting Student Loan Borrowers and the Economy in Upcoming Transitions
- Senate Banking Committee: Cryptocurrencies: What are They Good For?
- Senate Committee on the Judiciary: America Under Cyber Siege: Preventing and Responding to Ransomware Attacks
- House Committee on Financial Services: The Promises and Perils of Central Bank Digital Currencies
- House Committee on Financial Services: NAHASDA Reauthorization: Addressing Historic Disinvestment and the Ongoing Plight of the Freemen in Native American Communities
Thursday
- Senate Banking Committee: Protecting Americans from Debt Traps by Extending the Military’s 36% Interest Rate Cap to Everyone