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NAFCU's offices will be closed tomorrow and Wednesday in observance of the Christmas holiday, but the association will maintain its advocacy efforts to promote credit union priorities and the industry's efforts to provide safe, affordable financial products to millions of Americans.

NAFCU Today will resume publication Thursday, Dec. 26; NAFCU UPDATE will next publish Jan. 3.

Congress is out of session for the remainder of the year after finishing up work on fiscal year 2020 spending bills and averting a government shutdown last week. Lawmakers will return to Washington the week of Jan. 6.

Last week, NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger, along with the association's lobbying team and Defense Credit Union Council (DCUC) President and CEO Tony Hernandez, visited lawmakers on Capitol Hill to thank them for supporting credit unions. Of note, Berger and Hernandez met with House Armed Services Subcommittee Chairwoman Jackie Speier, D-Calif., and House Armed Services Subcommittee Chairman John Garamendi, D-Calif., who spearheaded a bipartisan letter urging the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) conference committee to remove a credit union-opposed provision before finalizing the bill.

The final NDAA report passed by both chambers – and was subsequently signed by the president – does not include a provision that would have treated big banks the same as a military installation's local, not-for-profit credit union when it comes to nominal leases. NAFCU's advocacy against the provision began in April before work on the bill began, and the association teamed up with DCUC to share credit unions' concerns with lawmakers.

In addition, NAFCU Vice President of Legislative Affairs Brad Thaler sent a message to Congress touting the good service credit unions provide to members. Thaler cited a recent Gallup study that found "credit unions are far better at supporting their members' feelings of well-being than banks are." NAFCU has consistently worked to set the record straight on the differences between credit unions and banks.

While NAFCU's offices are closed, credit unions will still have access to the  association's website for resources and upcoming events. Of note:

• NAFCU's new Economic & CU Monitor report found that credit unions have seen a n increase in the number of defensive filings of suspicious activity reports (SARs) in the past year. NAFCU continues to seek Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)/anti-money laundering (AML) regime improvements through work with Congress and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
• The association has recently shared with the NCUA input on its efforts to modernize field of membership (FOM) and chartering rules, as well as a request for more guidance related to the current expected credit loss (CECL) standard.
• Credit unions can still save $300 on NAFCU's 2020 conferences and online training subscriptions with the code HOLIDAY. The code expires Jan. 10, 2020, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern and can be used as many times and for as many people as credit unions need.