It appears increasingly likely that the reauthorization of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, now known as FACT-for Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act-will not serve as the vehicle for broader financial services legislation, including those designed by the credit union lobby.
That's because key lawmakers are seeking to keep the bill, which provides federal preemptions of state credit reporting laws, clean to limit any chances they won't pass the bill by the end of the year when the current law expires.
"They're concerned about anything that has the potential to derail the whole thing," said one credit union lobbyist last week on the eve of the Senate's drafting of the bill.
The fair credit law was seen by some as a potential means for an omnibus financial services bill that could include regulatory relief and other initiatives that are unlikely to get passed this year.
Some credit union lobbyists even suggested that the long-stalled bankruptcy reform bill could get tacked on to the bill, which has broad bipartisan support in the Congress.
But at least one credit union lobbyist was optimistic about using the fair credit bill as a fast train for credit union goodies because, he said, Congress may see it as an easy way to resolve several pending initiatives at the same time.
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