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NAFCU urges relief extensions, modifications ahead of Senate Banking Committee hearing
Ahead of today's Senate Banking Committee hearing to examine the administration's pandemic response programs, NAFCU Vice President of Legislative Affairs Brad Thaler urged Congress to consider the extension of several CARES Act relief measures as credit unions work to serve their members during the pandemic. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell are set to testify before the committee.
The hearing is set to begin at 10 a.m. Eastern and will be available via livestream on the committee’s website.
Mnuchin and Powell will also go before the House Financial Services Committee tomorrow.
In the letter, Thaler called for several relief measures under the CARES Act to be extended and or modified, such as:
- section 1102, the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) paycheck protection program;
- section 1110, the SBA’s economic injury disaster loan (EIDL) program;
- section 4016, the NCUA’s central liquidity facility (CLF); and
- section 4013, Troubled Debt Restructuring (TDR) provisions.
In addition to relief related to the ongoing pandemic, Thaler also urged for the support of NCUA Chairman Rodney Hood’s request for a NAFCU-supported credit union exemption under the current expected credit loss (CECL) standard.
"While there were important steps to help credit unions and their members in the [CARES Act], there remain a number of areas that we believe must be addressed by Congress and the administration in any additional relief legislation to ensure that credit unions have the necessary tools to continue to support their members through this crisis," wrote Thaler.
Throughout the pandemic, NAFCU has worked closely with the Treasury, the Fed, and federal agencies to ensure credit unions' concerns are addressed and the industry is fully equipped to meet members' needs. The NAFCU Board of Directors today is set to meet with Federal Reserve Board Governor Michelle Bowman. In addition, President-elect Joe Biden announced Monday he will nominate former Fed Chair Janet Yellen to lead the Treasury under his administration; NAFCU met several times with Yellen during her tenure at the Fed.
NAFCU will monitor the hearing and provide an update to credit unions via NAFCU Today. The association will continue working closely with Congress to address credit unions' concerns amid the pandemic. Access NAFCU's coronavirus-related resources here.