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Lawmakers in the Senate passed the American Rescue Plan Act – the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package – over the weekend after a lengthy vote-a-rama on a number of proposed amendments. The bill – which includes some NAFCU-supported provisions to help small businesses and provide assistance to homeowners and renters – now heads back to the House, which must approve the Senate’s changes, before going to the President’s desk.

NAFCU's advocacy team is also engaging with Congress to gather support for the bipartisan Access to Credit for Small Businesses Impacted by the COVID-19 Crisis Act, H.R. 1471, introduced last week. The NAFCU-sought legislation would provide a temporary exemption from the credit union member business lending (MBL) cap for loans made to small businesses as they recover from the coronavirus national emergency.

NAFCU will continue to keep credit unions updated on the status of both bills and continue to advocate to Congress ways in which it could provide additional tools to credit unions to better support members amid the ongoing pandemic.

Credit unions are encouraged to join the association's advocacy by utilizing NAFCU’s Grassroots Action Center. Through the platform, credit unions can send messages directly to lawmakers, set up local meetings, access background information on important issues, and utilize a variety of tools to take action.

House and Senate committees are also set to hold a number of hearings on key issues:

• tomorrow, the Senate Banking Committee will examine the state of retail investing;
• Wednesday, the House Small Business Committee will hold a hearing on next steps for the paycheck protection program (PPP); and
• the House Financial Services Committee Wednesday will discuss fair access to housing and financial services and on Thursday, a subcommittee will explore policy options to help consumers amid the pandemic.

Additionally, NAFCU's Regulatory Committee, made up of association member credit union representatives, is set to meet on Tuesday to discuss the latest issues affecting the industry.

Credit unions can still participate in this month's Economic and CU Monitor survey by sharing their perspective on the topic of branching; responses are due Wednesday. Data collected from the survey is used to support the association's advocacy efforts on the Hill and with regulators.