CUNA Legislative Overview 111th Congress By every measure, the 111th Congress has been one of the most active Congresses in over 40 years. The list of major legislation enacted over the last two years includes the Economic Stimulus bill, Student Lending Reform, the Cash for Clunkers, Credit Card Reform, Mortgage Reform, Financial Reform, Health Care Reform, Volunteer Promotion, Gender Discrimination Prevention, Small Business Lending, Hate Crimes Prevention, Iran Sanctions, Weapons System Acquisition Reform and Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control legislation. A “do nothing” Congress this was not. Credit unions were right in the thick of it from beginning to end. In the First Session, Congress enacted the Credit Union Share Insurance Stabilization Act, which provided the flexibility for credit unions to spread out the premiums associated with the corporate credit union situation. When Congress considered credit card reform, credit unions were adversely affected due to an unintended consequence, which Congress fixed through a technical corrections bill. And, credit unions grassroots efforts were the reason that judicial mortgage modification legislation (cramdown) was defeated twice. When Congress turned its attention to repairing the regulatory framework that caused the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression, CUNA and the Leagues were there to work with Congress to minimize the adverse impact on credit unions. We were able to persuade Congress and the administration to retain NCUA as the independent credit union regulator, and keep the NCUSIF separate from the FDIC. When the administration sought to create a new bureau focusing on consumer protection, we responsibly responded with a litany of changes credit unions sought, and we were successful in getting just about all of them. Even though credit unions did not cause the problem and have not been subject to the widespread consumer complaints that other providers have, we approached regulatory restructuring from the perspective that Congress was going to enact something and we might as well be at the table to make sure that credit unions’ interests were represented. As a result of our efforts: •
All but three credit unions will be exempt from examination and enforcement by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
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Credit unions will not have to pay for the new agency.
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The Chairman of the NCUA will serve on the oversight council reviewing the Bureau’s rules.