Lawmakers Not Afraid to Touch on Hot Topics at Caucus

WASHINGTON-Three of the hottest, most controversial legislative topics in the credit union community were not taboo for lawmakers at NAFCU's Congressional Caucus last week. House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Barney Frank (D-Mass.) expressed his support for the Financial Services Regulatory Relief Act (H.R. 1375) and said that he did not see what was so controversial about it. The banks have been blocking the bill's movement because of the credit union provisions. However, Frank stated, “Nobody (members of Congress) is going to put forward anything that cuts back on what credit unions can do.” House Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee Chairman Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), author of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (H.R. 2622), said he vigorously supported the need for a uniform system of credit information sharing. He called it the “democratization” of credit and stated that was what credit unions are all about. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.) reiterated his support for bankruptcy reform legislation (H.R. 975), currently stalled in the Senate. Credit unions have been strong backers of the bill, particularly the Chapter 7 means test, mandatory financial counseling and voluntary reaffirmations for credit union members.