Newsroom

September 27, 2021

House passes NDAA, CUs maintain status of leases on military bases

Capitol Hill

The House late Thursday passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in a 316-113 vote. A win for credit unions, the bill excluded statutory changes that would threaten the status of credit union leases on military bases. The bill also maintained not allowing banks rent-free access to military installations. 

The House added the NAFCU-backed SAFE Act as an amendment to the NDAA early last week, as well as an amendment to allow remote online notarization services, a provision which NAFCU also has backed.  NAFCU is concerned about a pair of amendments that the House added on near party-line votes which could impact the ability to get accurate credit reports for service members by limiting what negative information can be placed on them. The Senate introduced its own version of the NDAA last week and is expected to consider it on the floor next month.  Once they complete their work, the Senate bill will have to be reconciled with the House package in a conference later this year.

NAFCU successfully kept these bank-sought lease provisions out of the NDAA through continued advocacy efforts for credit unions and their 127 million members. NAFCU will remain vigilant and continue to engage with Congress to ensure credit unions’ priorities are top of mind during this process.