WASHINGTON – Two credit union allies introduced a Senate version of the CU Regulatory Improvements Act yesterday, giving the bill increasing momentum heading into today’s hearing on CURIA in the House Financial Services Committee.
Introduction of the Senate version comes five years after CURIA was introduced in the House, which is scheduled to hold its first hearing on the legislation this morning.
Sen. Mary Landrieu, a Louisiana Democrat, announced during CUNA’s Government Affairs Conference that she agreed to co-sponsor the Senate’s CURIA version because she believes credit union powers to serve small business and the underserved should be expanded, referring to two main CURIA provisions.
The other Senate co-sponsor is Joe Lieberman, the Connecticut Democrat who CUNA helped save after he lost the 2005 Democratic primary with an unprecedented independent mail campaign on his behalf.
Introduction of the Senate bill ads to recent momentum for reform, which increased Monday with the introduction of a similar regulatory relief bill for credit unions in the House–dubbed the CU Regulatory Relief Act. With bills in both houses, there is increased congressional attention on the credit union initiative.
“This means when the Senate Banking Committee turns to regulatory relief then these items for credit unions will be on the table when the debate gets going,” Brad Thaler, senior lobbyist for NAFCU, told The Credit Union Journal yesterday. Thaler noted there are other regulatory initiatives in play that would help banks and thrifts, as well as credit unions.
