CUNA supports Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2017
WASHINGTON, DC (June 8, 2016) — The Credit Union National Association has announced its support for the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2017. In a letter to Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers and Ranking Member Nita Lowey, as well as Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government Chairman Ander Crenshaw and Ranking Member Jose Serrano, CUNA explained its support for the legislation, which would reduce the regulatory burden on credit unions and make important changes to a law that will benefit America’s consumers in the financial services marketplace. Read CUNA’s full letter here.
“This legislation reduces the regulatory burden on credit unions, ultimately benefitting members seeking the safest and most affordable products and services from credit unions – the best choice in the financial services marketplace,” wrote Jim Nussle, president/CEO of CUNA. “It changes the structure and funding source for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) by bringing it under the annual Congressional appropriations process as well as by replacing the single director with a five-member Commission. CUNA has long supported these changes and believes consumers would benefit if the CFPB was subject to enhanced oversight and transparency.”
In addition to structural changes, Nussle also pointed to exemption language on CFPB exemption authority.
“I sincerely appreciate the Committee’s inclusion of Report language that urges the CFPB to consider the impact its rules have on small financial institutions,” Nussle wrote. “The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act gave the Bureau explicit power in Section 1022 of the Act to tailor its regulations to exempt any class of entity from individual rulemakings. This report language is another strong expression of Congressional intent that will hopefully spur the agency to make necessary changes to its practices. The CFPB has not used this authority to the extent necessary to protect credit union products and services from the burden of sweeping regulations that should be aimed at those who caused the financial crisis.”
A bipartisan group of 329 members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to CFPB Director Richard Cordray urging the bureau to use its rulemaking exemption authority to protect credit unions and other community-based financial institutions from provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act earlier this year. The letter by Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Steve Stivers (R-Ohio) garnered overwhelming support from both sides of the aisle and was fully led by CUNA, state-based credit union association leagues and member credit unions.
About CUNA
Credit Union National Association (CUNA) is the only national association that advocates on behalf of all of America’s credit unions, which are owned by 135 million consumer members. CUNA, along with its network of affiliated state credit union leagues, delivers unwavering advocacy, continuous professional growth and operational confidence to protect the best interests of all credit unions. For more information about CUNA, visit cuna.org. To find your nearest credit union, visit YourMoneyFurther.com.
