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The House, voting 243-165, passed NAFCU-supported H.R. 427 on Tuesday, which would require Congress to hold an up-or-down vote before the enactment of any regulation expected to have an impact of more than $100 million.

The "Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act" targets regulations scored by the Office of Management and Budget as having a large economic impact, and also allows greater congressional scrutiny of other regulations.

In a letter on Tuesday to House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., NAFCU Vice President of Legislative Affairs Thaler noted that the legislation is particularly important in the wake of the growing regulatory burden for credit unions since the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act five years ago.

"NAFCU believes putting this legislative process into place could help ensure additional accountability from the Administration and Congress regardless of which political party is in the majority," Thaler wrote. "The impact of the growing regulatory burden on credit unions is evident as the number of credit unions continues to decline. Since the second quarter of 2010, we have lost 1,250 federally-insured credit unions – over 17% of the industry."

Thaler continued, "The fact is that many smaller institutions simply cannot keep up with the new regulatory tide and have merged out of business or been taken over."

In related news, members of the House Financials Services Committee are continuing a mark-up session today involving several NAFCU-backed regulatory relief bills. NAFCU will continue to monitor the measures' progress and advocate for further credit union relief.