WASHINGTON — Credit unions are lobbying for several key pieces of legislation in the lame-duck session, but it could be a case of too little time and too much inertia.
Both CUNA and NAFCU are pushing for action on the Privacy Notification Modernization Act, which would nix requiring CUs to send members annual privacy notices by mail if no changes have been made to their policies; and the Credit Union Share Insurance Fund Parity Act, clarifying that NCUA is authorized to extend share insurance coverage to funds in interest on lawyer trust accounts. The two trade groups — along with several banking associations — are also urging Congress to tackle cyber security issues.
In addition, NAFCU is seeking changes to the Mortgage Choice Act of 2013 that would exclude affiliated title charges from the definition of "points and fees." For CUNA's part, the trade association is pressing for movement on the Capital access for Small Community Financial Institutions Act to allow privately insured credit unions to join the Federal Home Loan Bank program.
But what are the chances for any of these initiatives to get pushed through the brief lame-duck session?
"There are several important issues awaiting action by the Senate, and I'm hopeful that the ongoing pressure credit unions are exerting will get these bills passed and sent to the President," said John McKechnie, a partner at Total Spectrum who formerly worked at NCUA and CUNA. "The one I hear most about is the privacy notice legislation; it's a reasonable and well-aimed reform of an outdated requirement, and stands to save credit unions and consumers real money."
What these initiatives also have going in their favor, is that they're not hot-button issues, he added, but the short time frame left will be a challenge. "None of the credit union-supported bills are controversial. With so few dates remaining on the legislative calendar, getting them passed is more a matter of persistence than persuasion."
Still another barrier the CU lobby faces, however, is simple inertia, according to Geoff Bacino of Bacino & Associates, who is also a former NCUA Board member.
"With the sea change we just went through in the recent election, where we saw Republicans consolidate their power in the House, with [Speaker of the House John] Boehner less beholden to the Tea Party and the new majority in the Senate, there's just no incentive for the GOP to do much of anything," Bacino said. "Once you start down a path of giving one guy something, the next thing you know, you've got to give this other guy something. It becomes an unmanageable process. If I see a friend or foe get something, I want to know how come I can't something, too."
Sometimes lack of controversy can actually work against a bill. "Of the things credit unions are pushing for, there is no one 'must-pass' bill that lends itself to hanging a lot of other things on," Bacino offered. "With the exception of cyber security, not one of these is big enough to carry on its own, and cyber security is so big that it's going to take a long time to get that crafted."
What about 2015, when the new Congress gets started?
"The one to watch, even more so than Obamacare, is going to be Dodd-Frank," Bacino predicted. "Look for [Sen. Richard] Shelby to try to gut part of Dodd-Frank. They'll be trying to figure out a way not to fund CFPB or add two or three board members at CFPB."
