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March 8, 2013 – The House voted 267-151 Wednesday to pass a six-month stopgap spending bill that would keep the government funded past March 27, and Senate action could be around the corner.
The House measure shift billions of dollars to military operations to help soften the spending cuts ordered last week under the federal sequester. Reports said a bipartisan coalition in the Senate hopes to expand H.R. 933 to give other cabinet departments similar relief. (The bill also includes a rider preserving a six-day mail delivery week.)
In the meantime, the sequester remains in place, and NAFCU is continuing to urge credit unions to share their plans for helping members through any furloughs ahead.
On Monday, NAFCU ran a story noting that two large agencies – the Justice Department and the National Labor Relations Board – had already sent workers notices of potential furloughs. A Justice Department letter projected furloughs of up to 14 days.
Justice FCU, a NAFCU member credit union, has made preparations to address its members’ needs. The credit unions says it will provide assistance to all furloughed employees at the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security.
Members with direct deposit will be offered special unsecured loans of up to $10,000, at 0 percent interest for the first 60 days. After that, the rate will convert to 4.9 percent, and the term will be 24 months.
The credit union also says members with existing consumer loans or credit cards there will be able to request one payment deferral per loan. “We will be there for our members during this financial crisis.” said Peter Sainato, the credit union’s president and CEO. “Supporting the Justice community is a vital part of our mission.”
NAFCU members can send information on steps they are taking to help members by email to Quincy Enoch at qenoch@nafcu.org.