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Updated December 29, 2008
The 110th Congress marked the third Congress that Reps. Paul Kanjorski (D-PA) and Ed Royce (R-CA) introduced the Credit Union Regulatory Improvements Act. The proposal (H.R. 1537) was similar to previous versions, but included additional enhancements that we believe ultimately improved the bill.
On March 3, 2008, Reps. Kanjorski and Royce introduced H.R. 5519, the Credit Union Regulatory Relief Act of 2008 (CURRA). As introduced, CURRA was a pared-down version of CURIA that was intended to provide some regulatory relief to credit unions and was expected to pass the House by voice vote under suspension of the rules. However, due to controversy and confusion from the banking lobby’s misrepresentation of the bill, CURRA was pulled from the House schedule until an agreement on how to proceed was reached.
The result was the introduction of another measure by Reps. Paul Kanjorski (D-PA), Ed Royce (R-CA) and Dennis Moore (D-KS), H.R. 6312, the Credit Union, Bank, and Thrift Regulatory Relief Act of 2008 (CUBTRRA). CUBTRRA combined CURRA provisions with provisions from a bank and thrift regulatory relief bill. The bill was brought straight to the House floor shortly after introduction and was passed by voice vote under suspension of the rules June 24, 2008. The Senate did not take any action on CUBTRRA.
Notably, on March 6, 2008 the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing entitled “The Need for Credit Union Regulatory Relief and Improvement.” Mike Lussier, President/CEO of Webster First FCU and NAFCU board member testified on NAFCU’s behalf. Please click on the following link to read his testimony. Testimony of Mike Lussier before the House Financial Services Committee.
Moreover, the 110th Congress marked the first time companion legislation was offered in the Senate. On May 1, 2008, Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) introduced S. 2957, a companion CURIA bill. This was a significant step toward advancing credit union legislation, allowing credit unions to begin officially building supporters in the Senate.
At the close of the 110th Congress, H.R. 1537 had garnered the support of 151 Members of Congress. While support for credit union legislation clearly increased, work remains to be done.
NAFCU continues to work with Reps. Kanjorski and Royce to ensure that we continue to grow support for regulatory modernization for credit unions in the 111th Congress.
Related Documents
One Page Summary of CURIA
Section-By-Section Summary
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