Congress Plays Ping Pong With RegRelief

WASHINGTON - (06/22/06) – Members of the Senate BankingCommittee have agreed to add at least one more credit unionprovision to a scaled-back version of the regulatory relief billbefore they send the bill back to the House Financial ServicesCommittee for its additions, according to sources on Capitol Hill.The senators have apparently agreed to add the provision to allowmore than 200 privately insured credit unions to join the FederalHome Loan Bank system, a priority of House Financial ServicesChairman Michael Oxley of Ohio, but there appears to be littlechance of other credit union priorities being added to the billwhen it moves back to the House in this game of legislative‘ping-pong’. But CUNA has also expressed its oppositionto a bid to include a provision raising the business loan limitsfor thrifts, just as thrifts and banks are intensifying theirlobbying to restrict business lending for credit unions. CUNAPresident Dan Mica told Senate Banking Committee Chairman RichardShelby the credit union trade group will pull its support from thebill if they include the thrift measure. Dean Sagar, vice presidentof government affairs for CUNA, said they believe it is unfair forthe thrifts to get expanded business lending powers while fightingthe credit union efforts. “We told them ‘if you approvethis then we’ll oppose the bill,’” Sagar told TheCredit Union Journal.