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The Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday unveiled the chairman's mark on the fiscal year 2018 financial services and general government appropriations bill, which, in a win for credit unions, includes full funding for NAFCU-supported Community Development Financial Institution Fund (CDFI) and Community Development Revolving Loan Fund (CDRLF). It also brings the CFPB under the congressional appropriations process.

President Donald Trump's proposed FY2018 budget, released in May, had eliminated funding for the CDFI and CDRLF grants, which NAFCU raised concerns with and vowed to work with Congress to protect. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Thad Cochran, R-Miss., recommends funding the CDFI at $248 million and the CDRLF at $2 million in his chairman's mark on the bill.

In a letter sent to a Senate Appropriations subcommittee last week, NAFCU Vice President of Legislative Affairs Brad Thaler recommended fully funding these programs to ensure credit unions can continue to provide financial stability for low-income members and their families.

"CDFI credit unions predominantly serve low-income areas and other target markets, often being the only financial services option for consumers that live paycheck to paycheck," Thaler wrote. "The CDFI Fund grant program helps credit unions serve communities and consumers that large banks do not focus on."

Under the chairman's mark, the CFPB would be subject to the congressional appropriations process. NAFCU has been supportive of such reforms to increase the CFPB's accountability. Though not included in the chairman's mark, Thaler had also in his letter recommended moving the CFPB from a single director to a bipartisan commission.

The chairman's mark also provides $886.3 million to the Small Business Administration (SBA); it fully funds the SBA's business loans program at $156.2 million and provides $186.5 million for disaster-related loans. NAFCU recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the SBA with the stated goal of increasing the number of credit unions that offer SBA products and streamlining the process for credit unions that already offer such products.

NAFCU will continue to review the funding legislation to determine its potential impact on credit unions and the services they provide.