GOP Bill Would Lessen Dodd-Frank’s Blow to Credit Unions
Credit unions could be exempted from some federal regulations designed to stave off a repeat of the 2008 economic crisis under legislation introduced Friday by Rep. Gary Miller.   

The California Republican said credit unions weren’t to blame for the risky and abusive practices on Wall Street that helped thrust the country into recession – but they’re still being punished with an onslaught of burdensome rules. Read More

Legislation Calling for Commemorative Coins To Mark National Park Service Centennial Introduced
Bipartisan legislation has been introduced to the U.S. Senate calling for the U.S. Treasury to issue gold and silver coins of varying denominations to mark the centennial of the National Park Service in 2016. Read More

Menendez, Enzi Introduce Legislation to Boost US Commercial Real Estate Industry
U.S. Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY) today re-introduced legislation to promote access to private capital that will help boost America’s commercial real estate in the face of decreased property values and limited loan opportunities. This legislation will help communities avoid more vacant storefronts, lost jobs and lower tax revenues which would make full economic recovery more difficult.  Read More

Five of 7 Colorado House Members Vote to Kill Farm Bill
Call it the contradictory — or confounding — nature of American politics that elected officials can enthusiastically tout ideas they successfully got tucked into a massive agricultural bill — and then turn around and vote against the actual piece of legislation.

Such was the story Thursday for five of Colorado's seven House members — all of whom supported critical parts of the massive $940 billion farm bill but ultimately cast a vote to handily kill it.  Read More

Supreme Court's May Not Be Last Word On Arbitration
The Supreme Court last week ruled in favor of giving financial services companies the right to include mandatory arbitration clauses in contracts with customers. The high court is set to discuss another case this Fall with potential ramifications for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and credit unions: A case addressing the constitutionality of President Barack Obama's recess appointments. Read More

Credit Unions Back Regulatory Overhaul
The National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU) is throwing its support behind Senate legislation requiring independent agencies to measure the costs of proposed regulations before they are enacted.

Existing rules require executive branch agencies to weigh the benefits of major proposed regulations against the expense of enacting them. But independent agencies — including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) — are exempt from the requirement. Read More

Credit Unions in Auto Loan Fast Lane as Banks Stall
When it comes to the amount of auto loans they’ve recently originated, some banks have apparently stalled out.

According to data from tracking firm SNL Financial, the top 100 lenders increased their total auto loans by just 0.64% over the fourth quarter of 2012. Among these, the top 16 lenders didn’t budge from their spots compared to a quarter earlier. Read More

After a week-long district work period, the House and the Senate are both in Washington this week to begin a work period that will take them up to Independence Day. 

Summer Agenda
The agenda for the summer work periods is starting to come into focus.  The House is expected to spend much of the next two months working on spending bills, defense authorization, immigration reform and reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act.  The Senate is expected to finish the Farm Bill this week and then turn to immigration reform, which proponents hope will be completed by Independence Day.  Mixed into this broad agenda, Congress faces a deadline to keep the interest rate on federal direct student loans from doubling at the end of the month; the House passed legislation on this matter before recessing in May.  READ MORE

The Environmental Compliance Cost Transparency Act of 2013
 U.S. Congressman Paul  Gosar, D.D.S (AZ-04) introduced The Environmental Compliance Cost Transparency Act of 2013, H.R. 2162. This legislation provides transparency by reporting the related costs incurred by electricity consumers as a result of environmental regulations. Although this bill does not amend environmental laws, it is premised on the notion that consumers have the right to know how much of their energy bill is related to ever-increasing compliance with federal regulations.  Read More

Rep. Mike Coffman’s Veterans To Work Bill Overwhelmingly Passes Full House
A Rep. Mike Coffman proposal that bolsters existing job training programs for returning veterans overwhelmingly passed the full House of Representatives Tuesday.

The proposal, which the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office believes will save money over ten years, bolsters the existing program for returning veterans who want to go straight to work and not to college first.  Read More

Congress This Week
Floor Schedule
The House will convened on Monday and considered bills on the suspension calendar.  For the remainder of the week, the House is expected to consider H.R. 3, the Northern Route Approval Act (Keystone XL pipeline) as well as H.R. 1911, the Smarter Solutions for Students Act.  Read More

Don't Let Congress Tax Our Credit Unions! 

Unfortunately, some in Congress want to raise taxes and impose new fees on 96 million credit union members who represent 40% of all Americans, yet represent only 6% of the assets in financial institutions. And, they want to do this despite the fact that credit unions are not-for-profit and meeting their core mission every day.

Visit Don't Tax My Credit Union.org to learn more and take action!


Credit unions may also access the credit union Tax Status Advocacy Tool Kit for member communication resources!  

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Floor Schedule
The House convened at 2 p.m. on Monday and considered bills on the suspension calendar.  For the remainder of the week, the House is expected to consider H.R. 45, a bill to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and health care–related provisions in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.  In addition, the House will consider H.R. 1062, the SEC Regulatory Accountability Act.  Read More

Both the House and Senate are in session this week after having spent last week in their districts and states.  The next scheduled district work period is schedule for the week of May 27.

Floor Schedule
The House returned on Monday and considered bills under suspension of the rules.  On Wednesday, the House and the Senate is meeting in joint session for the purposes of receiving an address by the Honorable Park Geun-hye, President of the Republic of Korea.  During legislative session this week, the House will consider debt prioritization legislation, the “Full Faith and Credit Act” (H.R. 807). The House will also consider the “Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013” (H.R. 1406).   READ MORE (log in required)