WASHINGTON - Congress moved ahead last week with an economic stimulus package that will rebate as much as $600 each to the average taxpayer, but the bill will not include any of the CURIA provisions credit union lobbyists had hoped to attach to the package.
Both CUNA and NAFCU were trying to get one or more of the CURIA provisions, like a lifting of the limits on member business loans, and expansion of powers to serve underserved communities, or even enactment of a risk-based capital system, on to the stimulus bill, but Congress was moving ahead last week with a version absent the credit union provisions.
A version of the stimulus bill passed the House last week and is expected to be approved by the Senate soon.
“It was always a long-shot,” said Dan Berger, chief lobbyist for NAFCU. “But we saw it as a perfect opportunity to help provide economic stimulus for the economy, as well as get some of the provisions of CURIA passed.”
Debate on the stimulus package and other issue affecting the overall economy, including reform of the mortgage market, are taking up increasing amounts of time on Capitol Hill, pushing out other issues of concern for credit unions, including CURIA.
Action of the full credit union package is growing increasingly unlikely, even as the number of House members to sign on to the bill continues to grow and now exceeds 140 co-sponsors. But despite the large number of sponsors, the House Financial Services Committee has yet to schedule a hearing on the bill. In addition, the Senate still has not introduced its own version of the measure.
Even more troubling, from a credit union perspective, is the fact that both the Senate and the House have begun preliminary work to draft a new regulatory relief bill for banks, thrifts and credit unions. That makes it increasingly unlikely that Congress will move a regulatory relief bill just for credit unions–the Credit Union Regulatory Improvements Act–on its own, and is more likely a bill will emerge to relieve regulatory burden for all financial institutions–but not this Congress.
Also Pushed Aside
Another initiative that has been pushed aside is the effort to tighten data security measures. While several bills have been debated in Congress, the Financial Services Committee, which will have a central role in crafting the legislation, has yet to introduce its own bill. And there is no sign of a bill coming any time soon.
As a result, the credit union lobby continues to press for reforms on data security in state legislatures across the country, partly in an effort to force Congress to act.
A bill was introduced in the Wisconsin legislature last month that would enact the Payment Card Industry rules on data security, among other things, requiring the destruction of consumer information after a transaction has been completed, and requiring those entities that have been responsible for a data breach to pay the costs of resolution to their customers. Such costs could include notification to customers (members) of a data breach, cancellation and reissuance of cards, and fraud losses caused by the breach.
The bill is similar to one being championed by CUNA Mutual Group, which has been particularly hurt by the costs of data breaches borne by credit unions. Similar bills have been passed in Minnesota and introduced in several other states over the past two years, including California, Delaware, Massachusetts and Texas.
In California, the state legislature passed the bill, but it was vetoed by Gov. Schwarzenegger. But the legislature is expected to try to address the governor’s objections and try to amend the measure in an effort to get it passed.
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