WASHINGTON — The credit union trade groups are offering mixed responses to the $3-trillion stimulus package passed by the House late last week, welcoming some provisions while sharing concerns over others.
Led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), the massive $3-trillion HEROES Act, aimed at bringing pandemic relief, would bring to more than $5 trillion just the federal expenditures alone in response to the economic damage caused by COVID-19. The bill passed by the House would include another round of direct payments to Americans, aid for state and local governments, $1 billion for the CDFI fund, $100 billion for rental assistance, $75 billion in mortgage relief, and much more.
CUToday.info has additional details on what’s included in the proposal here.
For now, it appears the HEROES Act may get no further than the House. The Republican-controlled Senate has already expressed opposition, and President Trump has said he will veto the bill should it ever reach his desk.
NAFCU Response
Both CUNA and NAFCU were cautious in their responses to the legislation.
“The House of Representatives' willingness to act to take the lead on the first step of the next phase of pandemic relief is commendable,” said NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger. “While there are provisions in the HEROES Act that we applaud, such as changes to existing SBA lending programs and an additional $1 billion to the CDFI Fund, there are others that raise more concerns than they address. The legislation’s broad mandated blanket loan forbearance provisions and new limits on debt collection are among those we think require a closer look, as they could threaten to deepen our economic recession by posing safety and soundness risks to lenders if enacted.
“There are other proposals that already have bipartisan support but were not included in the HEROES Act, such as relief from the credit union member business lending cap and allowing credit unions greater flexibility in their lending. These would without a doubt help small businesses and consumers,” Berger continued. “NAFCU will continue working with Congress and the administration throughout this process to ensure credit unions can better serve their members, small businesses and local communities amid the pandemic.”
CUNA Response
CUNA sent a letter to House leadership Friday ahead of the vote.
“Credit unions’ interest in the legislation falls into essentially three buckets: provisions that would help credit unions do more for their members, small businesses, and communities; provisions that would make economic recovery more difficult; and suggestions for additional policy changes that would assist credit unions in doing more to solve the problems we face in the coming months and years,” CUNA CEO Jim Nussle said.
CUNA expressed support for provisions that include an emergency appropriation of $1 billion to the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund, enhancements to the Employee Retention Payroll Tax Credit, two new payroll tax credits, and inclusion of the text of the Secure and Faire Enforcement (SAFE) Act.