Credit union trades have a busy morning on Capitol Hill, with important hearings in both the House and Senate.

The House Financial Institutions Subcommittee will source two credit union executives for its hearing on the impact of growing regulatory burdens on small institutions. Ed Templeton, president/CEO of the $630 million SRP FCU in North Augusta, S.C., and Terry West, president/CEO of the $4.7 billion VyStar CU in Jacksonville, Fla., will testify on behalf of NAFCU and CUNA respectively.

The hearing, scheduled for 10 a.m. in the Rayburn building, is of particular importance because Subcommittee chair Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and the panel's ranking member Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) co-authored HR 3461, the Financial Institutions Examination Fairness and Reform Act, which is supported by both trade organizations.

The hearing can be watched live via webcast from a link on the Financial Services committee's website.

At 10 a.m. in the Dirksen Building, the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Economic Policy will investigate the pros and cons of reauthorizing and reforming the National Flood Insurance Program. That hearing can be viewed live online on C-SPAN's website.

NAFCU submitted a letter supporting reauthorization of the program to Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and David Vitter (R-La.), the chairman and ranking member of that subcommittee.

According to the letter from NAFCU Executive Vice President of Government Affairs Dan Berger, the National Flood Insurance Program is scheduled to expire at the end of May, which could leave millions of American families without flood insurance, and make extra work for credit unions that would have to send out flood insurance requirement notices to members.

The Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization Act of 2011 was voted out of the Senate Banking committee by voice last year, and would have reauthorized the program until 2016.

Should it be taken up on the Senate floor this year, Berger wrote that NAFCU would continue to advocate for a provision that would explicitly allow lenders to collect premiums for force-placed flood insurance during the 45-day notification period if borrowers let policies lapse. The provision was included in a similar bill that passed the House last year.

Instant Insights /

Credit Union Trades Watching Two Congressional Hearings Today

Related Stories

Recommended For You