WASHINGTON – Credit unions around the country are celebrating today’s 10th anniversary of the signing into law of HR 1151, the CU Membership Access Act, which codified credit unions’ powers to serve multiple groups.
With a brief, “this is a good bill,” President Clinton signed the bill on Aug. 7, 1998, flanked by many credit dignitaries, including the heads of NCUA, CUNA and NAFCU, as well as the bill’s chief sponsors, Pennsylvania Democrat Paul Kanjorski and Ohio Republican Steve LaTourette.
The bill was hastily introduced in Congress and quickly passed after the Supreme Court, at the request of the bankers, ruled that NCUA’s multiple groups field of membership policy violated the Federal CU Act’s common bond restrictions.
“HR 1151 struck a blow in favor of consumers and the nation’s credit unions, affirming consumers’ choice to obtain services from the financial institution of their choosing,” said Fred Becker, president of NAFCU.
