Newsroom

The House and Senate return to Washington this week. Committees are holding a number of hearings relevant to credit unions, including on credit bureaus, data security and consumer privacy, serving underserved communities and small business development. The Senate Banking Committee tomorrow is also set to advance the NCUA Board nominees.

NAFCU's award-winning advocacy team will be on Capitol Hill to attend hearings and share credit unions' positions on the issues. Here are the hearings NAFCU will be monitoring:

Agency nominees

• Tomorrow, the Senate Banking Committee will vote to advance the nominations of Rodney Hood and Todd Harper to the NCUA Board, and Dr. Mark Calabria to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), among others. Once approved by the committee, the nominations will advance to the full Senate for confirmation. See what issues the nominees plan to prioritize if confirmed here.

Federal Reserve

• The Senate Banking Committee's nomination votes will happen ahead of a hearing with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who is delivering the agency's semiannual monetary policy report to Congress. Tomorrow's hearing is set to begin at 10 a.m. Eastern.
• Wednesday, the House Financial Services Committee will hear from the Fed's Powell on monetary policy and the state of the economy.

Data security/consumer privacy

• Tomorrow, the House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing focused on holding credit bureaus accountable. A House report last year on the Equifax breach, which exposed personal identifiable information of about 148 million U.S. consumers, determined the incident could have been prevented. NAFCU has argued that credit bureaus should be examined for compliance under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), and remains a leading advocate for a national data security standard to ensure consumers are protected and negligent entities are held accountable. The hearing will begin at 10 a.m. Eastern.
• Tomorrow, a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee will discuss protecting consumer privacy in the era of big data.
• Wednesday, the Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on policy principles for a federal data privacy framework. NAFCU has previously shared with Congress the principles credit unions would like to see addressed in any comprehensive cyber and data security legislation.

Providing capital in communities

• Tomorrow, a House Appropriations subcommittee will hold a hearing on Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs). Throughout government funding discussions, NAFCU urged Congress to fully fund the CDFI program to ensure credit unions can continue to provide financial stability for low-income members and their families; it was fully funded at $250 million.
• Wednesday, the House Small Business Committee will hold a hearing on the Small Business Administration's programs to encourage entrepreneurship. Many credit unions use SBA programs, including the 7(a) loan program, to provide loans to small businesses and entrepreneurs in their communities. NAFCU also has a Memorandum of Understanding with the agency to promote small business lending.
• Thursday, the Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing to consider legislative proposals on capital formation and corporate governance.

Also happening this week:

• Today, NAFCU Regulatory Affairs Counsel Kaley Schafer will attend a Women in Housing and Finance event featuring former banking agency executives who will discuss financial services regulation.
• Tomorrow, NAFCU is offering a webinar to help credit unions identify the compliance risks in implementing changes to credit card portfolios following a merger or acquisition of new accounts. Register here.