WASHINGTON - Congress was expected to ease a logjam on Bush appointments last week with the confirmation of a handful of nominees, including former Illinois regulator Michael Fryzel to be chairman of NCUA.
Fryzel’s appointment was endorsed by the Senate Banking Committee and was expected to be confirmed by the full Senate late last week.
The Democrats in control of the Senate have been reluctant to confirm any Bush nominations at the approach of the presidential elections, when they hope a Democrat will win the White House and be empowered to make all the federal appointments starting in January. As a result, the Fryzel nomination, made last December, has been delayed along with hundreds of other Bush appointments.
Democrats have been especially loath to confirm Republicans, like Fryzel, to long-term appointments. Fryzel would serve out the final six years on the NCUA Board term. In Fryzel’s case, it would retain a two-to-one majority of Republicans on the NCUA Board.
But a vote on the NCUA nominee was expected to be part of a Senate deal last week to gain confirmation of Democratic nominees, including two of three candidates to the five-member Securities and Exchange Commission.
Fryzel would succeed Republican JoAnn Johnson, who has been serving as a holdover on the three-person NCUA Board since her six-year term expired last August. The 11 months served by Johnson since then comes off the six-year term of her successor.
Fryzel comes to NCUA with one of the broadest resumes of any previous candidate. He served as deputy director of the Illinois Department of Financial Institutions under Ed Callahan, then because director when Callahan went to Washington to head NCUA.
Since his service as chief credit union and bank regulator in Illinois, Fryzel has served as a member of the state’s CU Advisory Board for 17 years, and represented hundreds of credit unions in his private law practice.
If Fryzel is confirmed as new NCUA Chairman, he could be moved aside next year if a Democrat wins the White House and designates his own chairman of the NCUA Board. That could be current NCUA Board member Gigi Hyland, a Democrat, or it could be a new candidate to succeed Republican Rodney Hood, whose NCUA term expires next April.(c) 2008 The Credit Union Journal and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved.http://www.cujournal.com http://www.sourcemedia.com
