WASHINGTON—As the 114th Congress begins to wrap up, senators and representatives will likely address only high-priority legislation this year, looking to push remaining legislative activity into next year.
Meanwhile, piece of legislation that will certainly be addressed this week by the lame duck Congress, said Donovan, is funding the government. The deadline for the current funding is Dec. 9
CUNA Chief Advocacy Officer Ryan Donovan said that with the current reality in mind the trade group remains hopeful the Senior Safe Act will be one piece of legislation that makes it to the President’s desk in 2016.
The Senior Safe Act, which CUNA has been pressing the Senate to pass, gives employees of financial institutions safe harbor when reporting any suspicions of financial abuse. The House version of the legislation has already passed.
“There appear to be a lot of incentives to wrap up early,” said Donovan. “There is a significant amount of anticipation within Congress now that the gears will be greased more for the new Congress under the new administration.”
“One bill we are paying particularly close attention to is the Senior Safe Act,” said Donovan. “Last week, Senate Special Committee on Aging held a hearing on elder financial abuse. We submitted testimony for that hearing in support of the Senior Safe Act. This legislation would improve the ability of credit unions to protect seniors from unscrupulous activity by providing limited immunity (from prosecution) for properly trained financial service employees to disclose concerns about financial exploitation of seniors to the appropriate authorities.”
Donovan said that Sens. Margaret Collins (R-ME) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) are trying to get the Senior Safe Act through the Senate via an expedited procedure known as “The Hotline.”
“That procedure requires the unanimous consent of all senators,” explained Donovan. “But my understanding is there is a single senator holding up this protection for seniors. We are trying to work through this impasse to get the bill through the Senate and to the President before the end of the session. If we are not able to do that, we will continue to work on this legislation next year, both as a standalone measure and also in the context of regulatory relief.”
CUNA Chief Operating Officer Rich Meade noted that senators will often object to a bill not because of the underlying legislation but to seek a concession.
Meanwhile, for its part NAFCU said it will be watching several hearings this week, including the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Monetary Policy and Trade hearing on “Unconventional Monetary Policy,” and the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises meeting on short-term financing regulations.
NAFCU is also attending the following meetings:
- NCUA Public and Congressional Affairs and Office of National Examinations and Supervision meeting Monday and Tuesday
- Joint FBIIC-FSSCC (Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council) meeting at the Treasury on Wednesday
- The President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee public meeting Wednesday