Newsroom

November 05, 2012

Elections to bring change in committees

Credit unions will see changes in key congressional committees as a result of today's elections, and NAFCU is monitoring several key races to gauge the impact on credit unions.

Key races affecting credit unions are being waged by Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., and Rep. Ed Perlmutter, D-Colo., and NAFCU is working in support of their reelection.

Tester, a Senate Banking Committee member, championed Senate legislation backed by NAFCU that would have delayed implementation of the Durbin amendment on debit interchange sothe Federal Reserve would have time to study its impact. He is alsoan original cosponsor of a bill to remove the dual ATM fee disclosure.

Sherman has argued in the House for action on the NAFCU-supported member business lending cap lift for credit unions and support for legislation to allow credit unions to accept supplemental capital to help mitigate the impact of prompt corrective action. Perlmutter also supports an increase in the MBL cap.

A number of lawmakers are also declining to run for reelection, while others are term-limited and won't have leadership roles next year. For example:

  • Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., will give up chairmanship of the House Financial Services Committee due to term limits. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., who declined to run for another term, steps down from the top minority seat on the financial services panel.
  • Both Sens. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, and Herb Kohl, D-Wis., both on Senate Banking, were up for reelection this year but decided not to run.

Other Senate Banking members up for reelection are Robert Menendez, D-N.J., Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Roger Wicker, R-Miss.