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NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger, along with other senior staff, will meet with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Mignon Clyburn today to discuss the adverse effects some Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) provisions have on the credit union industry.

Also in attendance at today's meeting: NAFCU Vice President of Legislative Affairs Brad Thaler, Director of Regulatory Affairs Alexander Monterrubio and Regulatory Affairs Counsel Ann Kossachev.

In July 2015, the FCC released a declaratory ruling and order that provides limited robocall exemptions under the TCPA for financial institutions making free autodialed calls to consumers. NAFCU has repeatedly told the FCC that the order has led to financial institutions ceasing important communications with members about their accounts over fear of inadvertently violating the rule.

In light of this, NAFCU has urged the FCC to clarify language in the TCPA in order to ease the compliance burden many credit unions face when trying to contact their members. While the association has commended the FCC for its efforts to crack down on illegal robocalls, its efforts to modernize the TCPA have only increased the potential for frivolous lawsuits and made it more difficult for credit unions to serve their members.

During today's meeting, NAFCU will reiterate that credit unions are not the bad actors that Congress intended to target when it passed the TCPA, and that provisions within the regulation prevent financial institutions from relaying important notifications and updates to their members regarding their accounts.

In September 2015, NAFCU entered a suit challenging the FCC's order on TCPA prohibitions on autodialed calls to account holders. Oral arguments were heard in the case October 2016 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit; the court could issue a decision at any time.