WASHINGTON - Credit unions, it seems, found a new champion in the Senate last week with the emergence of Democrat Mary Landrieu.
With Louisiana CU League President Anne Cochran by her side at CUNA’s GAC, the Louisiana senator praised the work of her state’s credit unions helping to rescue the state’s residents and rebuild after the ravages of hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.
So the two-term senator said she, along with her Democratic counterpart Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, are introducing a Senate version of CURIA. A Senate version of the regulatory relief bill has been one of the missing components of the five-year lobbying effort for the bill, which was introduced in the House in 2003.
Landrieu said she supports the efforts to expand credit union powers because of the need to increase assistance to small businesses and underserved communities, two constituencies that were devastated by the massive storms.
“Working together, Sen. Lieberman and I will shepherd this bill through the process,” she announced.
