WASHINGTON – NCUA and the National Treasury Employees Union have finally found something to agree on though it is not a labor contract yet.

Both are keeping a close watch on so-called Sunset bills in the House right now that aim to eliminate or modify unnecessary and outdated agencies. NCUA Director of Public and Congressional Affairs John McKechnie noted that H.R. 3282, Abolishment of Obsolete Agencies and Federal Sunset Act of 2005, received a favorable report from the House Government Reform Committee. The committee approved the legislation, which simply establishes the commission to review the government agencies, 16-15. There may even be an effort to get the bill to the House floor by the August recess, he added. "Clearly, the agency pays attention to anything like this," McKechnie commented. However, he stated there is a "clear reason why the agency does and should exist." He also said that the prospects in the Senate for this legislation this year are not good. NTEU has been watching the Government Efficiency Act of 2006 (H.R. 5766), which was slated for a vote in the House last Thursday after deadline. H.R. 5766 passed the same committee by a vote of 15-12. NTEU, which has been negotiating a labor contract with NCUA for a couple of years now, called the pair "an unprecedented and extremely unwise transfer of power from the Legislative Branch to the Executive Branch." President Colleen Kelley said, "Congress would, in essence, surrender its oversight duty and turn over decisions about the function and structure of the federal government to an unelected commission which could conduct its deliberations without openness or accountability."

CUNA Vice President of Legislative Affairs Dean Sagar explained that some in Washington see this type of legislation as an effort to get rid of unnecessary social programs, while others could use it to eliminate "politically sensitive" agencies. He said the Texas Credit Union League has reported that the tactic has been used down there a number of times. Really, he added, it is just a period of "scheduled and organized mischief."