Capital Corner: Summer update

“Congress can’t get anything done” is the common refrain.  To be precise, it should be “Congress can’t get anything done…except when they can.”  As the calendar turns to summer, Capitol Hill is turning to whatever business they have on their plates that’s doable.  As you would expect, DCUC is on the front lines of the following legislative (and regulatory) issues.

NDAA Process Gets Started

The House took initial steps on the annual bill that sets the Nation’s defense policy May 27, as House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith introduced legislation that will eventually become the National Defense Authorization Act.  The Readiness Subcommittee, which reviews military base matters, is holding its markup June 9.

DCUC is once again standing up for credit unions on the nominal lease issue. One wild card: a DoD study, mandated by last year’s NDAA on access to financial services for the military community, is pending.  Why and how the study got into last year’s bill is still murky, but some Committee observers believe results of this study could affect HASC deliberations on the lease issue. Banks have claimed, without success, that there is an unmet need that could be rectified by granting for-profit banks free space on bases. The study is due of July 1.

 

continue reading »