WASHINGTON–This week is “shaping up to be one of the most consequential weeks in Washington in recent memory,” according to CUNA’s Ryan Donovan.
“If you think about it along the spectrum of what’s possible, it is possible that by end of the week Congress will have funded the government through the end of the year, will have passed the infrastructure bill and advanced a Democratic infrastructure bill,” said Donovan, CUNA’s chief advocacy officer. “On other end, it’s likely we’ll see Congress pass a continuing resolution. In-between those two things is where we are right now as the House and Senate come back into session.”
The House is set to vote on Thursday on a bipartisan infrastructure bill that passed the Senate in August. The House may also consider the Build Back Better Act, the $3.5-trillion package that has been passed by a number of House committees and which is the subject of great debate and is opposed by most Republicans due to its high price tag.
The big issue is rapidly becoming, as Donovan noted, funding the federal government. If a deal isn’t reached, the U.S. government could not just shut down but default for the first time in its history, which could have significant consequences.
“A lot could happen between now and Thursday and it all deserves our engagement,” Donovan said.
Hearings Scheduled
In addition, Donovan said CUNA will also be watching the following hearings this week:
Today
Senate Banking Committee: CARES Act Oversight of the Treasury and Federal Reserve: Supporting an Equitable Pandemic Recovery
Wednesday
- House Committee on Financial Services: Access Denied: Eliminating Barriers and Increasing Economic Opportunity for Justice-Involved Individuals
- Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation hearing on Protecting Consumer Privacy
- Senate Judiciary Committee markup of legislation, including bill that would decriminalize marijuana at federal level
- House Committee on Financial Services: The Future of Banking: How Consolidation, Nonbank Competition, and Technology are Reshaping the Banking System – Donovan noted this hearing will likely include discussion of a bill that would make it easier credit unions to expel disruptive and abusive members, as well as legislation that would give NCUA third-party supervisory authority
Thursday
- Senate Committee on Small Business: Empowering Employee Owned Businesses and Cooperatives Through Access to Capital
- House Committee on Financial Services: Oversight of the Treasury Department's and Federal Reserve's Pandemic Response
- Senate Banking Committee: Nomination hearing https://www.cutoday.info/Fresh-Today/Confirmation-Hearing-for-NCUA-s-Harper-Set-for-Thursday, including for NCUA Chairman Todd Harper