WASHINGTON-For the third time, the House has passed the Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act (H.R. 1185) by an overwhelming margin. The final vote count was 413-10 to increase deposit insurance coverage to $130,000 and index it, while doubling coverage for certain retirement accounts and increasing coverage of municipal deposits; merging the Bank and Savings Association Insurance Funds; establishing a reserve ratio range and eliminating the 23 basis point rate `cliff,' among other things. The bill was introduced March 9 by House Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee Chairman Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) and Congresswoman Darlene Hooley (D-Ore.), along with House Financial Services Committee Chairman Mike Oxley (R-Ohio) and Ranking Member Barney Frank (D-Mass.). "I look forward to working with the Senate to come to a consensus and would be surprised if we didn't get deposit insurance reform enacted this year," Bachus said in a statement on the House floor. However, the Senate has had philosophical differences regarding increasing insurance coverage, which has held up the bill in the past. "With the other body having twice failed to act on the legislation approved overwhelmingly by the House, we are back this year with high hopes that the third time will truly be the charm in enacting this critically important legislation," Oxley commented from the House floor. "For us, the importance there is that they treated NCUSIF the same as they treated FDIC deposits," CUNA Vice President of Legislative Affairs and Senior Legislative Counsel Gary Kohn said. "That's what our major interest was in that bill," which was reflected in letters CUNA President and CEO Dan Mica sent to Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on the eve of the bill's consideration. "Although credit unions have not historically taken a position on the need for an increase in coverage, it is imperative that if an increase in FDIC coverage is provided, there must be an equal increase in the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF) in order to avoid any possibility of a loss of faith in the safety and soundness of the credit union fund," Mica wrote. [email protected]