Regulatory Relief Dead For TheYear

WASHINGTON - (09/22/05) -- A bill to provide credit unions andbanks with regulatory relief is expected to die again this year inthe Senate, even as the House prepares to vote on the creditunion-backed measure. Senate Banking Committee Chairman RichardShelby, R-Ala., told credit union representatives during a closeddoor meeting Tuesday his committee's agenda is too busy, speciallywith the onset of Hurricane Katrina-related priorities, that thereis not enough time to fully debate a regulatory relief bill thisyear. The banking panel, Shelby said, is expected to spend a lot ofits time debating the controversial bill to reform the secondarymortgage market and oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,leaving little time for non-Katrina related matters, sourcesattending the meeting told The Credit Union Journal. Still, thebanking committee could still debate and vote the regulatory reliefbill next year, in the second session of the 109th Congress. Thefailure to act on the Reg Relief bill also means the Senate ishighly unlikely to entertain credit unions' own regulatory reliefpackage, known as the CU Regulatory Improvements Act, orCURIA.