As the Senate is preparing to vote today on a measure to create a stabilization fund for corporate credit unions, CUNA and its affiliates are urging members to write lawmakers to support it but a grassroots group led by Callahan & Associates is urging lawmakers to hold hearings first.
CUNA's Action Alert urges members to contact senators and stress the importance of the measure to helping credit unions spread out the cost of stabilizing corporate credit unions and allowing them to have enough capital to continue lending.
But those urging caution, who have created an online petition that people can sign at www.creditunionsising.com, say that NCUA needs to provide more information to Congress and the public before Congress creates the fund. The petition urges Congress to hold hearings on corporate credit unions before creating the fund. A subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee is likely to hold hearings on the subject next month.
"The proposed legislation would permit NCUSIF to borrow up to $30 billion to be repaid from future credit union earnings," said Callahan CEO Chip Filson. "If used in full, this authority would exceed twelve times credit unions' total 2008 net income."
The Senate is expected to vote on the measure this afternoon. A controversial provision that would allow bankruptcy judges to rewrite the terms of mortgages will be voted on as a separate amendment and is not expected to pass.
