The U.S. Capitol Building
The credit union industry secured two major victories Wednesday as the U.S. Senate agreed on a deal to pass the 2025 reauthorization of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), advancing key amendments on liquidity and community lending.
The Senate NDAA included Senator Alex Padilla’s amendment, which would give credit unions easier access to emergency liquidity through the NCUA’s Central Liquidity Facility (CLF), and Senator Steve Daines’ amendment guaranteeing the future of the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund.
“We stayed focused throughout the NDAA process to have Congress include measures that would help credit unions, while also protecting against amendments that would cause harm,” Jim Nussle, president/CEO of America’s Credit Unions, said. “These amendments will permanently extend emergency liquidity enhancements and strengthen the CDFI Fund’s transparency and oversight.”
The Defense Credit Union Council (DCUC) praised the bipartisan Senate vote of 77–20, calling the inclusion of the CLF Enhancement Act “a meaningful step toward ensuring credit unions can better serve those who serve our nation,” Anthony Hernandez, DCUC's president/CEO, said.
Separately, Senators Bill Hagerty and Angela Alsobrooks introduced the Main Street Depositor Protection Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at bolstering depositor confidence in community financial institutions.
America’s Credit Unions also welcomed the defeat of an amendment by Senator Rand Paul that would have prohibited the Federal Reserve from paying interest on deposits held in its system, a move Nussle warned would have “a devastating impact on credit unions and other community financial institutions.”
Both trade groups said they will closely monitor House-Senate negotiations to ensure these credit union-backed provisions make it into the final NDAA.
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