When it comes to getting the cap on member business lending being raised, credit unions suffered another setback when the draft of the Senate job creation bill didn't include a provision that would accomplish that.
It's the second setback on the issue during a two-week period. President Obama failed to mention the issue in the portion of his State of the Union address that focused on job creation and his proposal to make money available to community banks to increase business lending does not include credit unions.
Legislation has been introduced in both the House and Senate that would raise the cap on member business loans to 25% of assets from their current level of 12.25%. The increase wasn't included in the jobs-creation bill that the House passed in December.
Recommended For You
The Senate had hoped to pass the jobs bill by the end of this week but that is unlikely in light of the severe snowstorm that has shut down most of Washington.
Lobbyists for CUNA and NAFCU have said they will continue to try to get the MBL increase in the jobs bill later on in the legislative process or try to get it attached to another bill. CUNA has said raising the cap will be one of the talking points for attendees at its upcoming Governmental Affairs Conference when they meet with lawmakers.
The Senate bill would extend unemployment benefits and health insurance subsidies for the uninsured. It would also give businesses that hire unemployed workers an exemption from the Social Security payroll tax.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
