Although some of the names are still unofficial, party choicesfor Senate committees that affect credit unions are starting toemerge.

Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) will remain chairman of the BankingCommittee, and both NAFCU and CUNA are reporting that Sen. MikeCrapo (R-Idaho) is the unofficial choice of the GOP for rankingmember.

Crapo voted along party lines Thursday when he cast a nay voteon the budget point of order that killedS. 3637, the Transaction Account Guarantee favored by bankers.Johnson not only voted yes to advance the TAG bill, he took to theSenate floor Wednesday to urge his fellow senators to vote for thebill.

Neither senator is a co-sponsor of S. 2231, which would raisethe member business lending cap on credit unions to 27.5% ofassets.

According to the official Senate Democrats webpage, new membersassigned named to the 2013 banking committee include Senator-electElizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Senator-elect Heidi Heitkamp ofNorth Dakota and Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Manchin voted alongparty lines Thursday to waive the budget point of order on TAG.

Other Democratic members of next year's Senate Banking committeeinclude Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Chuck Schumer of New York,Robert Menendez of New Jersey, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Jon Tester ofMontana, Mark Warner of Virginia, Jeff Merkley of Oregon and KayHagan of North Carolina.

Tester could be a strong ally of credit unions after CUNAsupported him with partisan campaign communications in his successful re-electionthis year. Tester was not a co-sponsor of member business lendinglegislation, but Reed, Schumer and Brown were.

NAFCU's Jillian Pevo, senior associate director of legislativeaffairs, said the Banking Committee could provide oversight overnew regulations coming out of the Consumer Financial ProtectionBureau during hearings next year, and the trade looks forward toproviding input during those hearings.

Democrats Mike Bennett of Colorado and Brown of Ohio will bemembers of the next Senate Finance Committee. They will joinChairman Max Baucus of Montana, Schumer, Menendez, Jay Rockefellerof West Virginia, John Kerry of Massachusetts, Ron Wyden of Oregon,Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, Maria Cantwell of Washington, BillNelson of Florida, Tom Carper of Delaware and Ben Cardin ofMaryland. Wyden, Stabenow and Nelson were co-sponsors of S.2231.

The anticipated committee assignments are subject to approval bythe full Democratic caucus and approval of an organizing resolutionby the full Senate when the 113th Congress convenes in January.