Eliminating the tax exemption for credit unions was mistakenlyincluded in the House bill that contains the seven immediatereforms recommended by the National Commission on FiscalResponsibility and Reform, its sponsoring congressman saidWednesday afternoon.

“We regret that the credit union exemption was unintentionallyincluded in the 'phase-out' section of H.R. 6474. It wasintended it to be included in the 'maintained' section of thebill,” said Anthony Foti, spokesman for U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross(R-Fla.)

• Earlier Wednesday: House Bill Has Tax Exemption on ChoppingBlock

“We have been in direct contact with many leaders in the creditunion industry to ensure them that Congressman Ross is working tocorrect this error and he pledges to address it with a manager'samendment,” Foti said.

“Congressman Ross is a staunch supporter of the credit unionsand will continue to be a leader on their behalf,” the spokesmansaid.

NAFCU returned the sentiment. “We thank the congressman for hisquick response,” said Brad Thaler, the trade group's vice presidentof legislative affairs. “His office was very quick to meet with ustoday when the language came out, and they've been very open abouttalking to us about the error. We appreciate his office talking tous and thank them for making this correction.”

He added, “Congressman Ross has been a big supporter of creditunions and continues to be.”

While the possibility has been regularly raised on Capitol Hill,this is the first time since the Reagan years that the credit unionexemption has been specifically put on the table in a piece oflegislation, observers said.

Also known informally as the Simpson-Bowles commission, thebi-partisan panel was created by President Obama in 2010 to studyand propose ways to improve the nation's fiscal health.

In this case, among a list of exemptions to be eliminated, H.R.6474 currently states that it would eliminate the tax exemption infive equal steps over five years.

Ross introduced the bill on Sept. 20. It declared as itspurpose: “To adopt the seven immediate reforms recommended by theNational Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform to reducespending and make the Federal Government more efficient.”

Some of the other specific exemptions included in the measureinclude those for citizens living abroad, gross income of insurancecontracts, interest on qualified veterans' mortgage bonds, merchantmarine capital construction, film and television productions andcoal production.

The House bill was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means,the House document said, “in addition to the Committees onOversight and Government Reform, House Administration, Rules, andthe Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by theSpeaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fallwithin the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.”

The full text of the bill is available online.