Legislative Update with Jay Kruse

​Jay is reporting from the National Conference of State Legislatures event this week! Plus, IRS Reporting Proposal issue is a huge victory for credit unions, businesses, and consumers. 

Good Morning!

National Conference of State Legislatures
I am at the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) this week to gain some insight on policy discussions taking place on a wide variety of topics, including financial services.  They have packed a wealth of content into this three-day event, which welcomes thousands of legislators and policy experts from across the country.  America’s credit unions are well represented here, with CUNA and multiple state credit union associations in attendance to staff a booth in the exhibit hall and ensure credit unions have a seat at the table to take part in the policy discussion.

IRS Reporting Proposal Issue a Victory for Credit Unions
This is a busy week in politics with elections taking place in multiple states across the country as Congress continues to negotiate the details of their scaled back $1.75 trillion “Build Back Better” proposal.  But, the ol’ Grim Reaper came through in the clutch on Halloween, sending the intrusive IRS Reporting Proposal to an early grave.  This is a huge victory for consumers and small businesses, as well as financial institutions.

Late last week, President Biden released the Build Back Better framework, which thanks to a strong grassroots advocacy push from the credit union industry, did not include the IRS reporting requirements for financial institutions.  In fact, Politico gave “CUNA and the state credit union associations” credit for organizing the effort to get the requirement dropped from the bill.

I can’t express how proud I am of our Dakotas’ credit union advocates for making our voices heard and having an effect on the most significant piece of legislation being considered in Washington today!  You can read the full Politico article here.

Congress continues to try to iron out all the details of the Build Back Better framework this week.  While President Biden had hopes of the package passing through both the House and Senate last week, there still appear to be some roadblocks in the way.  We will continue to keep an eye on the process to see if Congress can get something on the president’s desk in the near future.  
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Have a great week, and as always, don’t hesitate to contact me with any advocacy concerns.