With the House in recess until Nov. 27 and midterm elections barely a month away, all eyes are on the Senate, where National Credit Union Administration Chairman Mark McWatters is set to testify before the Senate Banking Committee this week on the implementation of S. 2155, the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act, which President Trump signed into law earlier this year.
The hearing, set for Tuesday, Oct. 2, will include testimony from McWatters, as well as representatives from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Reserve Board of Governors and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Details of McWatters' testimony were unavailable at press time.
The Senate Banking Committee is also scheduled to cover money laundering in a hearing Thursday morning with testimony from representatives of FinCEN, Treasury and the FBI. A similar hearing aimed at strengthening enforcement of the Bank Secrecy Act was held in January.
The Senate Judiciary Committee this week will hold a hearing examining the financial landscape 10 years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, while the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee will host a hearing on how the tax code could be modified to expand opportunities for small businesses. Both hearings are scheduled for Wednesday.
Though the House won’t be back in session for more than a month, the chamber earned credit unions’ gratitude before entering recess, with lawmakers advancing three tax reform bills – aka “Tax 2.0” – and leaving the credit union tax exemption untouched.
The week also begins with financial institutions facing new warnings from the U.S. Secret Service regarding “
Lastly, midterm elections are just 36 days away and CU trade groups are spending big to support candidates they believe can help advance credit union interests in the next Congress. The Credit Union National Association – in concert with state leagues – announced today $7 million in expenditures this cycle to support credit union-friendly candidates.
