WASHINGTON– It’s likely to be a “very busy September” in Congress with a number of issues on the agenda credit unions will be watching, according to CUNA.
Indeed, this week is likely to be a “prelude” to just how busy this month will be, said Ryan Donovan, CUNA’s chief advocacy officer.
While neither body will be meeting in full, this week both the House and the Senate will be working on the reconciliation bill.
“September is always a month during which Congress is engaged in how to keep the government open past the end of the (federal) fiscal year on Sept. 30,” said Donovan. “There is the need to raise the federal debt limit. There is a lot going on.”
Concern Over New Burden
One of those things going on is the House Ways & Means Committee’s work on the reconciliation bill out of which language is expected that would require financial institutions to report additional account-holder information on an enhanced IRS 1099 INT form.
Included in that information would be data on inflows and outflows to and from accounts that are larger than $600.
“This proposal is certainly going to have an impact on credit unions’ regulatory burden,” said Donovan. “But it also represents a significant data grab by the federal government without sufficient transparency on how the data is going to be used.”
Donovan noted CUNA has sent an action alert to its member credit unions urging CUs to send messages to Congress on the potential new reporting requirement.
Hearing Scheduled
Also of interest to credit unions this week, said Donovan, is a hearing by the House Committee on Financial Services on Friday titled, “Protecting Renters During the Pandemic: Reviewing Reforms to Expedite Emergency Rental Assistance.”