Advocacy Update

​Small victory for interchange, but the fight is not over! Plus, holding the CDFI Fund accountable, and a Senate committee hearing on “Junk Fees.” 

Both the House of Representatives and the Senate are in recess for the month of August. Both bodies are scheduled to resume legislative activity the week of September 4, 2023.

Interchange amendments left out of NDAA.
The Senate voted on its FY24 National Defense Authorization Act Thursday night and passed it without any interchange amendments. This was six days after Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS), threatened to hold up the bill over inclusion of the big box interchange bill.

What happened between now and then was 360-degree advocacy at its finest. More than 25,000 messages of opposition we sent to Senators this week alone, bringing the total messages sent since June to more than 70,000. With CUNA, Leagues, credit unions, and members speaking in a united voice, Senators heard loud and clear that this bill unequivocally does not belong in the bill that funds America’s military.

In addition to the action alert, CUNA and Leagues reached out to senators on how this bill will ultimately increase costs for all, backing that up with our latest data.

While this is great news, the fight isn’t over. There are other “must-pass” bills this year that we expect Durbin or Marshall to try and fit this bill into, not to mention attempts to move it forward on its own.

Senators introduce bill to hold CDFI Fund accountable.
A bipartisan group of senators have introduced legislation to require the Treasury Secretary or their designee to testify about Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund before both the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee annually. There is a need for clear communication and transparency from the fund, specifically in the light of the funds continued blackout period for its application process. Credit unions recently sent suggested revisions for the application and certification agreement to the fund.

Senate Banking Committee holds hearing on Junk Fees.
Junk fees were the focus when the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee held a hearing on July 26 entitled, "Taking Account of Fees and Tactics Impacting Americans' Wallets." The thrust of this hearing was to highlight President Biden's focus on so-called "junk fees" and what, if any, financial services providers levy such fees. CUNA's letter to the Committee pushes back on the notion that such fees are "junk" and posits that some fees are necessary to the functioning of a healthy financial services marketplace.

Credit Unions weigh in on Section 1071 Mortgage Date Reporting Rule
Finally, in advance of the House Financial Services Committee’s July 27 legislative markup, CUNA wrote a letter in support of a resolution sponsored by Representative Roger Williams (R-TX), H.J. Res. 66, a joint resolution disapproving the rule submitted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau relating to “Small Business Lending Under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (Regulation B)." This resolution would use the Congressional Review Act to end enforcement of the new mortgage lending data reporting rule, as required by Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010.
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DakCU members may contact Jeff Olson or Amy Kleinschmit with any advocacy related questions or concerns.