CURIA Is Still On Hold As Rep. Kanjorski Recovers

WASHINGTON - Credit union lobbyists are waiting anxiously for the return to work of Pennsylvania Democrat Paul Kanjorski from triple heart bypass surgery so they can add as many as two dozen new co-sponsors to the CU Regulatory Improvements Act that Kanjorski has championed.

Kanjorski is expected to return to work this week after undergoing routine surgery for blockage in his arteries discovered during a physical examination. His representatives emphasize the surgery was not related to a heart attack.

The lawmaker's convalescence has slowed progress on the bill because House rules require the chief sponsor of any bill to personally add any co-sponsors.

The bill was introduced last month with 11 co-sponsors, in addition to Kanjorski, who made his name in the credit union movement through his sponsorship and work for passage of HR 1151, the landmark 1998 CU Membership Access Act.

CUNA and NAFCU say the next goal is to get a hearing on the bill. Credit union lobbyists hope that is soon because the longer they wait the more Congress will get caught up in more pressing issues, including next year's elections.

The bill would, among other things, enact a risk-based capital system for credit unions; raise the maximum allowable of member business loans from the current 12.25% of assets to 20%; allow credit unions converting to community charters to retain their select groups; allow all charter types of credit unions to add underserved communities to their fields of membership; and make it more difficult for credit unions to convert to mutual saving banks.