Crews Nomination, Payments Policy Top Credit Union Agenda This Week
By CU Today Staff —
WASHINGTON—Credit union advocates are heading into a busy week on Capitol Hill focused on affordability, payments policy, NCUA leadership and regulatory relief, with both America’s Credit Unions and the Defense Credit Union Council closely watching a series of hearings and legislative actions.
DCUC Chief Advocacy Officer Jason Stverak said during the association’s Monday press call that Congress should use the week’s financial services agenda to advance long-standing credit union priorities, including the Veterans Member Business Loan Act, field-of-membership modernization, housing-related regulatory relief and protections against federal routing mandates, interchange price controls and state-level payment restrictions.
"Congress has a busy week ahead on financial services issues, and DCUC will be actively engaged on several fronts, including Senate Banking Committee hearings, NCUA matters and payments policy," stated Stverak.
Stverak said DCUC is urging lawmakers participating in a Senate Banking Committee hearing on affordability to advance several long-standing credit union priorities, including the bipartisan Veterans Member Business Loan Act, modernization of credit union field-of-membership rules and removal of regulatory barriers that limit access to affordable housing and responsible lending.
"If Congress is serious about lowering costs for American families, it needs to take the handcuffs off community institutions like credit unions," Stverak said. "Too often, credit unions are forced to sit on the sidelines because of outdated laws and regulations that limit their ability to serve consumers, entrepreneurs and military families."
DCUC also plans to submit questions for this week's Senate Banking Committee confirmation hearing for John Crews, President Trump's nominee to serve on the NCUA board. Stverak said the association supports Crews' nomination and views him as someone who has maintained an open-door policy throughout his time on Capitol Hill and at Treasury.
Among the issues DCUC hopes Crews addresses are preservation of the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, continuation of NCUA's ongoing deregulatory efforts, regulatory relief for small credit unions and the possibility of expanding Federal Credit Union Act authorities to provide share insurance coverage for non-members, a long-standing priority for defense credit unions.
DCUC will also closely follow a House Financial Services Committee hearing on the future of payments. Stverak said the organization will reiterate its opposition to federal routing mandates and interchange price controls, while warning that a patchwork of state-level payment restrictions could undermine fraud prevention, cybersecurity protections, rewards programs and access to low-cost financial services.
"We continue to support a uniform national payments framework, fair access to real-time payments systems and policies that recognize the unique needs of military families who frequently move across state lines and overseas," Stverak said.
In addition, DCUC is monitoring the Senate Armed Services Committee nomination hearing for John W. Hurst III to serve as comptroller of the Department of Defense. Stverak said DCUC is urging lawmakers to recognize financial readiness as a critical component of military readiness and to support continued collaboration between defense credit unions and military leadership.
On the regulatory front, Stverak noted DCUC submitted a comment letter Monday on NCUA's proposed changes to regulations governing credit union-to-bank mergers. While supporting efforts to eliminate unnecessary requirements, he said the organization believes member transparency, accountability and informed decision-making must remain central to any merger involving a change in ownership structure.
Greg Mesack, Senior Vice President of Advocacy at America's Credit Unions, also sees this week as a busy one on Capitol Hill.
Among the hearings scheduled this week is a discussion on affordability issues, featuring witnesses from the Consumer Bankers Association, the National Association of Realtors and others. Mesack said the hearing continues Congress' broader focus on affordability challenges facing consumers.
Of greater interest to credit unions, however, is a House Financial Services Committee hearing on the future of payments, Mesack said. While the hearing is not specifically focused on interchange, Mesack noted the topic could arise as lawmakers examine broader trends in the payments ecosystem, including stablecoins, new charter types, emerging payment technologies and instant payments.
"It's a very exciting and dynamic hearing," Mesack said, adding that America’s Credit Unions plans to closely monitor discussions surrounding both innovation and the longstanding policy issues tied to payments.
The organization's top priority this week, however, is Thursday's Senate Banking Committee nominations hearing, which includes Crews. Mesack said America’s Credit Unions has formally endorsed Crews' nomination and has already met with every Senate Banking Committee office to build support ahead of the hearing.
"We're very excited to see progress on his nomination," Mesack said. "We've been doing the groundwork, communicating with senators about his nomination and working to get it done as quickly as possible."
Mesack added that a confirmation would allow NCUA Chairman Kyle Hauptman, whose term expired nearly a year ago, to move on to his appointment to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.
On the legislative front, Mesack highlighted movement on housing-related legislation that includes regulatory relief provisions supported by credit unions. The measure is expected to pass the Senate Monday evening and could move quickly through the House under suspension of the rules before heading to President Trump's desk for signature, he said.
"We're very excited to see that happening," Mesack said.
Originally reported by CU Today.