Washington, DC (December 2, 2025) |
Today, the Defense Credit Union Council, DCUC, sent a letter to House Financial Services Committee leaders ahead of the hearing, “Oversight of Prudential Regulators,” thanking the Committee for its attention to issues vital to America’s credit unions and the millions of members they serve.
DCUC urged continued oversight that strengthens the partnership between regulators and community-based financial institutions, highlighting priorities such as:
- preserving the National Credit Union Administration’s (NCUA) independent, tailored oversight;
- improving access to liquidity through the Central Liquidity Facility (CLF);
- reducing regulatory burdens;
- supporting policies that protect consumers—including servicemembers—and expand access in underserved areas.
DCUC stressed the importance of NCUA’s independence and credit unions’ not-for-profit, member-owned structure.
“This approach enables lower costs and better service without taxpayer exposure,” said Jason Stverak, DCUC Chief Advocacy Officer. “We are asking Congress to safeguard NCUA’s independence and avoid one-size-fits-all regulations that have cost credit unions nearly $6.1 billion annually since Dodd–Frank.”
DCUC expressed support for improving NCUA transparency, modernizing examinations, and increasing regulatory review under proposals like the REVIEW Act. DCUC also supports the TIER Act and American FIRST Act, which would better tailor regulation and increase transparency around global standard-setting.
“We’re encouraging policymakers to reduce barriers for new community-based institutions, credit unions or banks, to ensure underserved and military communities have access to local financial services,” adds Stverak.
Stverak also noted that temporary pandemic-era CLF enhancements expanded access from 283 to over 4,100 credit unions, providing a critical liquidity backstop—especially for on-base credit unions. When these provisions expired in 2022, more than 3,300 credit unions lost access, shrinking the system’s liquidity buffer by nearly $10 billion. “The bipartisan Padilla-Cramer amendment would restore these powers at no cost to taxpayers,” Stverak said. DCUC strongly supports making these enhancements permanent in the FY2026 NDAA.
DCUC’s letter called for continued bipartisan support of the CDFI Fund reforms passed in the Senate version of the NDAA and also thanked the Committee for addressing fraud prevention through the TRAPS Act, as servicemembers and seniors remain frequent targets.
“We look forward to working with Congress on balanced, pro-credit-union reforms that support the 144 million Americans who rely on their credit unions,” Stverak said.
DCUC proposed several questions to be asked of NCUA Chairman Kyle Hauptman, a key witness at the upcoming hearing:
- The Senate’s NDAA includes bipartisan provisions (the Padilla-Cramer amendment) to permanently enhance the NCUA’s Central Liquidity Facility. Do you support these CLF enhancements becoming law, and how would making the pandemic-era CLF improvements permanent help credit unions – especially smaller defense credit unions – protect their members during future crises?
- In the interim before any new CLF legislation is enacted, what steps is NCUA taking to ensure that small and mid-sized credit unions (including those serving military bases) have adequate access to emergency liquidity? For example, are you encouraging more credit unions to join the CLF or exploring other avenues to address the liquidity gap that arose after the temporary CLF authorities expired in 2022?
- The Committee is considering the REVIEW Act, which would mandate more frequent regulatory review by financial regulators. Will you commit to having NCUA conduct regular, rigorous reviews of its regulations to identify and reduce rules that are outdated or overly burdensome for credit unions? In your view, which areas of regulatory relief for credit unions (especially those serving military and low-income populations) should be prioritized in such a review?