WASHINGTON–Sens. Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Richard Durbin (D-IL) have been working to have their Credit Card Competition Act, which is strongly opposed by credit unions, included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), according to one CUNA Hill advocate.
As CUToday.info has reported, credit union lobbyists in Washington have been saying that getting any standalone legislation through Congress in this session will be a tough task, and that the best chance for any bill is to be attached to some larger, must-pass legislation.
The NDAA is one of those pieces of legislation.
The Credit Card Competition Act would give merchants expanded options when it comes to interchange choices for payments. Credit unions have called the legislation “deeply flawed,” and for the past several weeks delegations from 20 state leagues representing 32 states have been hiking the Hill expressing opposition to their various congressional offices, according to Jason Stverak, deputy chief advocacy officer with CUNA.
Representatives from NAFCU’s recent Congressional Caucus also carried the same message.
‘Harm’ is Stressed
Now, with the effort to attach the Credit Card Competition Act to the larger NDAA, Stverak said CUNA has been in touch with other financial trade groups to contact members of the Senate Armed Services Committee and every other member of Congress stressing the “harm” the bill would cause credit unions, especially smaller CUs, as well as how it would limit access to credit.
Both the House and the Senate are in recess this week.
CDFI Issues
Separately, Stverak said CUNA continues to work with the Treasury Department on various issues related to delays in CDFI certifications for credit unions.
“We have encouraged (the CDFI Fund) to work through their (application) backlog so credit unions can know and understand their current status to make plans moving forward and to utilize their ECIP grants in a few instances,” he said.
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