WASHINGTON, DC (January 19, 2017) —
January 18, 2017
The Honorable James Lankford
Chairman
Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management
Committee on Homeland Security & Government Affairs
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Heidi Heitkamp
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management
Committee on Homeland Security & Government Affairs
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
Re: Improving Small Business Input on Federal Regulations
Dear Chairman Lankford and Ranking Member Heitkamp:
On behalf of the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU), the only national trade association focusing exclusively on federal issues affecting the nation’s federally-insured credit unions, I write today in advance of tomorrow’s hearing, “Improving Small Business Input on Federal Regulations: Ideas for Congress and a New Administration.” Thank you for your interest in this important topic, and for allowing NAFCU to share its views. It is our hope that Congress and this subcommittee will work to ensure that regulations promulgated with large entities in mind do not disproportionately hamper small businesses.
Credit unions help provide critical access to credit for small businesses across the country, and as not-for-profit cooperatives, credit unions are small businesses themselves. Accordingly, credit unions and their more than 106 million members strongly support efforts to ensure that all federal agencies, including agencies with direct jurisdiction over credit unions such as the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), appropriately consider the impact of their rules on small businesses.
NAFCU has long supported legislation that would clarify that agencies must measure both the direct economic impact and the reasonably foreseeable indirect economic impact that regulations are having on small entities (including credit unions). That is why we supported the Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act of 2015, introduced in the 114th Congress. The legislation would also require agencies to provide detailed analyses of impacts in both proposed and final rules, including estimates of cumulative economic impacts. Strengthening the Regulatory Flexibility Act would help to ensure that small entities have more information about how regulations will impact them and a greater opportunity to meaningfully participate in the rulemaking process.
Additionally, NAFCU has advocated for Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) panels when it comes to the CFPB. While we are pleased that the CFPB has used this tool on some rules, NAFCU remains concerned that the voice of panelists is not always heard. There are several instances that NAFCU is aware of where SBREFA panel reports clearly recorded specific issues voiced by panelists that were ultimately not addressed in final rules. While NAFCU appreciates agencies’ work to include industry representatives in the development of new rules that will directly impact their businesses, we would urge Congress and this subcommittee to investigate exactly how industry representatives’ feedback is weighed and to seek more transparency on what aspects of their recommendations are considered when deciding what to include in a final proposal.
Once again, thank you for holding this important hearing and for the opportunity to share our comments. If my colleagues or I can be of assistance to you, or if you have any questions regarding this or any other issue, please feel free to contact myself, or NAFCU’s Senior Associate Director of Legislative Affairs, Chad Adams at (703) 842-2265.
Sincerely,
Brad Thaler
Vice President of Legislative Affairs
cc: Members of the Subcommittee
The National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions is the only national trade association focusing exclusively on federal issues affecting the nation’s federally-insured credit unions. NAFCU membership is direct and provides credit unions with the best in federal advocacy, education and compliance assistance. For more information on NAFCU, go to www.nafcu.org or @NAFCU on Twitter.
Marisol Garibay
Vice President, Communications & Media Relations
National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions
3138 10th Street North
Arlington, VA 22201
O: (703) 842-2820 ext. 291
mgaribay@nafcu.org
Amanda Dela Cruz
Associate Director, Communications
National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions
3138 10th Street North
Arlington, VA 22201
O: (703) 842-2263 ext. 263
M: (571) 447-0022
adelacruz@nafcu.org
