Congress has beenbusy. In addition to the entertaining but inconsequential 'splainyourself hearings with various agency honchos, the House FinancialServices Committee and others advanced some legislation. Some billswere relatively new while others had been gathering dust foryears.

Don't get too excited about this. It's not as if Congress wasself-motivated to take action. They just want to get enoughaccomplished so they can bring new talking points home to thoseChamber of Commerce pancake breakfasts they have scheduled over theupcoming Easter break.

Truth be told, credit unions have more going for them in thiscongress than the last one. The nine regulatory relief bills thatpassed the HFS committee aren't necessarily sentenced to a slow andpainful death in the Senate. With Republicans in charge, some ofthese bills might actually make it all the way to a President Obamaveto.