WASHINGTON — Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), a strong credit union supporter, promised Monday that he will fight to raise the cap on member business loans and preserve the tax exemption while at the same time facing his toughest re-election challenge.
Sherman, a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee, told attendees at NAFCU’s Congressional Caucus at the Mayflower Hotel that one of the keys to jumpstarting the economy is to have government get out of the way and do things that will allow businesses to attain more capital and hire more people.
One solution is getting Congress to raise the cap on member business loans from 12.25% of assets to 27.5% of assets and Sherman noted that he is cosponsoring legislation that would accomplish that.
“I am hoping that the legislation will come to the floor soon,’’ he said.
Sherman also said eliminating the credit union tax exemption would be a “sudden and unwise change,’’ and he will do all he can to prevent that from happening. He isn’t a member of the House-Senate committee on deficit reduction that could vote to eliminate the exemption as part of its overall efforts to reduce government spending.
Sherman has a tough re-election race coming up because the committee that redraw California’s legislative lines placed him in the same district as fellow Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.) the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Sherman joined the House in 1997, Berman in 1983. Unless one of them retires, they will face off in next year’s Democratic primary.
