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NAFCU's award-winning advocacy team is active with Congress as the Senate Banking Committee today is set to hear from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on the impact of the CARES Act. The association is also keeping an eye on upcoming hearings on the paycheck protection program (PPP), and yesterday monitored hearings on data privacy and the coronavirus pandemic.

Ahead of the Senate Banking Committee hearing, NAFCU Vice President of Legislative Affairs Brad Thaler wrote committee members to outline CARES Act provisions that should be extended or modified to further support credit unions' efforts to assist members facing financial hardships amid the pandemic, including related to:

• the PPP;
• the NCUA's central liquidity facility;
• troubled debt restructurings;
• deposit insurance;
• the current expected credit loss (CECL) accounting standard; and
• credit union capital flexibility.

The hearing is set to begin at 10 a.m. Eastern and will be available via livestream.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, and Ranking Member Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, last week addressed credit unions during NAFCU's Virtual Congressional Caucus and shared insights into the committee's efforts to obtain more coronavirus-related relief and support for credit unions and their members.

Mnuchin and Powell Tuesday gave an update on the CARES Act to the House Financial Services Committee, during which PPP and other business lending efforts led the discussion.

On PPP, a House Small Business subcommittee hearing to review the SBA's technology systems for implementing the PPP is also set to begin at 10 a.m. Eastern today. Tomorrow, PPP lenders and borrowers will testify before another subcommittee on the loan forgiveness process. NAFCU has actively worked with the SBA, Treasury, and Congress on the PPP to ensure credit unions' ability to lend effectively through the program and to simplify the loan forgiveness process.

Yesterday, NAFCU monitored two other congressional hearings: One on data privacy (before which the association shared its data privacy principles) and one on the coronavirus pandemic. During the Senate Commerce Committee's data privacy hearing, lawmakers discussed state – including California – and federal efforts to address the issue. During the House Coronavirus Crisis Select Subcommittee's hearing, which featured Powell, Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., raised his concerns about the current expected credit loss (CECL) standard's impact on capital and lending, as well as forbearance provisions.

Stay tuned to NAFCU Today for the latest on Capitol Hill.