The reality is a bit different.

Whether it has been giving consumers more protections from theabusive practices of some credit card companies or getting creditunions to be more transparent, the NCUA has responded to lawmakers'inquiries by passing policies that reflect the congressionalagenda.

In recent years, this has happened when both Democrats andRepublicans have controlled Congress.

The most recent example is on credit cards.

In May, with great fanfare, the Fed, the NCUA and the Office ofThrift Supervision issued a series of regulations designed to curbpractices it defines as "unfair and deceptive," such asdouble-cycle billing, raising interest rates on existing balancesand inadequate disclosure of fee structure details. The publiccomment period for those regulations just ended and final rules aredue out before the end of the year.

The regulators' actions were a response to written and oralcommunication from key lawmakers--including Senate BankingCommittee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) and House FinancialServices Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.)--in which theyurged strong measures and gave the regulators considerableleeway.

So that Congress' intentions were not in doubt, in late Julywhile the comment period was still open, the House FinancialServices Committee passed a measure on credit card practices thatcontains many of the same provisions as the regulations issued bythe three agencies. Legislative strategists at CUNA and NAFCU saidthe action was more symbolic than substantive, since there is toolittle legislative time left for lawmakers to pass the measure thisyear and the Bush administration opposes the bill.

NCUA Vice Chairman Rodney Hood said he and other regulatorsdon't usually feel that congressional input amounts to excessivepressure.

"Whenever there are issues of concern surrounding safety andsoundness and consumer protection, we are interested in what ourstakeholders have to say, and Congress is certainly astakeholders,'' he told Credit Union Times. "Members are underpressure from the speed of communications from constituents and the24-hour news cycle, and sometimes that means they want to do thingson an expedited basis. So the pressure on regulators comes in termsof doing things quickly.''

Hood added that because his agency is self funded--with itsoperating budget coming from examination fees and interest on theshare insurance program--that gives Congress less clout than it hasover other agencies, whose purse strings it controls moreclosely.

CUNA Deputy General Counsel and Senior Vice President forRegulatory Affairs Mary Mitchell Dunn said most of the regulationsfrom the NCUA and the government's financial services regulatorsoriginated in one form or another from Capitol Hill.

"Congress is definitely the elephant in the room in terms ofregulations,'' she said.

NAFCU Senior Counsel and Director of Regulatory Affairs CarrieHunt said Congress pushes regulators in part because it is easierto enact a regulation than pass a law. She added that this hassometimes produced unintended consequences, such as placingrestrictions on credit unions when they haven't caused the problemthat needs to be solved.

"On credit cards, credit unions got swept up by rules that wereunnecessarily burdensome and cause operational problems,'' shesaid.

Hunt added that on the positive side, the focus on safety andsoundness issues by Congress has promoted the NCUA to increasepublic awareness of its deposit insurance, which the public hasbeen more concerned about because of some highly publicized bankfailures.

Although Democrats are sometimes more eager than Republicans toencourage new regulations, one of the NCUA's most prominentinitiatives, the Outreach Task Force, was the result of concernedexpress by the GOP-controlled Congress and its investigative armabout the efforts of credit unions to help the underserved.

A contentious House Ways and Means Committee hearing in November2005 about the tax-exempt status of credit unions featured criticalcomments from the banking industry and some lawmakers.

At that session, then-Chairman Bill Thomas (R-Calif.) said hewouldn't push to repeal credit unions' tax-exempt status but askedthe Government Accountability Office--Congress' investigativearm--to examine how well credit unions were serving underservedareas and whether they were collecting or disclosing enoughfinancial data.

A year later, the GAO concluded that "credit unions laggedbehind banks in serving low- and moderate-income households. Thereport also concluded that "credit union executive compensation isnot transparent.''

That prompted the NCUA to create the task force to examine howcredit unions were meeting their goals of serving underservedpopulations and whether they were disclosing enough data on theirmemberships or salaries. The task force recommended that creditunions be required to disclose a summary of their members'financial and income information and the salaries of their topexecutives.

In May, the board approved rule changes recommended by the taskforce requiring federal credit unions to submit data about thefinancial characteristics of their members and the services theyprovide to them. Hood opposed the proposal and said it would beimposing "CRA-lite burdens on credit unions."

The Community Reinvestment Act requires banks to demonstratethat they are providing services to underserved populations. Theact does not apply to credit unions, which are subject to theFederal Credit Union Act, which mandates their work in low-incomeareas or those with large minority populations.

Frank, who is generally supportive of credit unions, has said hemay try to broaden the reach of CRA to include credit unions.

That could happen if there is Democratic Congress and Democraticpresident next year.

Hood said it's a two-way street, and regulators often go toCongress to push their policy goals.

Earlier this year, the NCUA added a deputy in its office ofcongressional and public affairs, a former top aide to the lastRepublican chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.

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