WASHINGTON—With thousands of CU representatives here this week ready to Hike the Hill as part of CUNA’s GAC, both trade associations are watching key hearings and meetings on Capitol Hill.
NAFCU and CUNA pointed out the House considered the Securing and Enabling Commerce Using Remote and Electronic Notarization Act (H.R. 1059) Monday.
H.R. 1059 would authorize the use of remote online notarization and create national standards and protections for its use. It passed the House in the last Congress.
Also this week:
Tuesday
- The House Financial Services Committee will hold a markup today at 10 a.m. ET. On the agenda is a bill from Chairman Patrick McHenry (R-NC) to amend the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) as it relates to data privacy. McHenry introduced the bill Friday; a subcommittee discussed a draft of the bill earlier this month. It contains state pre-emptions as well as provisions to give consumers control of their personal financial information, and promote transparency in privacy terms and disclosures.
- Today, the House Small Business Committee will hold a hearing with small business owners to learn about the challenges they face while trying to grow their businesses and possible solutions to support Main Street
- In the Senate, the Senate Banking Committee meets today on international finance issues
Wednesday
- A House Energy and Commerce subcommittee meets to discuss the need for a national data privacy standar
Also in Washington:
Opposition Expressed to NAFCU to Bill’s Revival
Separately, NAFCU has sent a letter to Congress detailing the credit union industry’s opposition to any efforts to impose restrictions on interchange in light of the potential for Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) to reintroduce the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) in the coming weeks.
The legislation – first introduced in the prior Congress – sought to regulate credit card interchange rates by requiring multiple routing networks for credit transactions, granting merchants the option to choose cheaper, untested networks.
NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger said the group’s position is both sides of the two-sided market structure of the electronic payments system, which is comprised of consumers and merchants, benefit from the interchange arrangement.
‘Unwarranted’ Burden
“This bill is unwarranted and represents a heavy-handed government intrusion into the credit card payments market that would hurt credit unions and consumers alike, while allowing the largest retailers to pocket significant cost savings,” wrote Berger.
“Credit unions are committed to serving their members and, as such, must be able to make a reasonable return on payment card programs in order to continue to provide important consumer financial services, such as free checking accounts and member help lines when data breaches occur,” added Berger.
Support for CBDC Act
Separately, NAFCU sent Rep. Tom Emme (R-MN) a letter of support for the CBDC Surveillance State Act.
"While a central bank digital currency (CBDC) might sound like it would be of massive benefit to consumers, it brings with it privacy concerns, many of the design features necessary to achieve certain benefits come with serious tradeoffs that could negatively impact credit unions and pose broader financial stability risks," said Berger. "In some cases, those tradeoffs are difficult to anticipate because underlying regulatory policies—such as what balance to strike in terms of protecting consumer privacy, or how to guard against retail deposit substitution—are not yet developed."
House Passes Remote Online Notary Bill
The House passed the credit union-supported Securing and Enabling Commerce Using Remote and Electronic (SECURE) Notarization Act Monday night by voice vote. The bill would authorize the use of remote online notarization and create national standards and protections for its use.
"The national framework established by this bill would complement existing state laws and allow states the flexibility and freedom to implement their own remote notary standards while ensuring consumer protections,” said CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle. “We thank the House for moving this bill forward, and urge the Senate to take it up and make remote online notary services a permanent option for consumers.”
The bill passed the House in the previous Congress as well.
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