WASHINGTON—The House Appropriations Committee last week received a wave of letters from representatives sharing concerns over the impact of the CFPB’s rulemaking on credit unions.
The letters follow Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Steve Stivers’ (R-OH) bipartisan effort in the House to gather signatures for a letter urging CFPB Director Richard Cordray to use the Bureau’s Dodd-Frank Act authority to exempt credit unions from certain rulemakings. The letter, sent to Cordray, has drawn at least 330 signatures.
Prior to this week’s recess, the House Appropriations Committee had a series of deadlines for members of the House to submit requests for funding, programs and other priorities to be included in upcoming House appropriations bills.
“Several members of the House have submitted letters asking the Appropriations Committee to include regulatory relief proposals,” said Donovan.
Rep. Stivers sent a letter to the Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee asking for the CFPB to use its statutory exemption authority to make sure its rulemaking does not adversely impact the ability of credit unions and small banks to provide affordable financial product and services.
Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) and 13 colleagues also asked the Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee to include in its appropriations bill a safe harbor from the CFPB’s small size mortgage ability to repay rule for loans that are held in credit unions’ portfolios.
Rep. John Culberson (R-TX), asked the Financial Services Subcommittee to include language in its appropriations bill that would require mandatory exemption for credit unions from all CFPB rules and to raise the CU MBL cap to 27.5% of assets.
Rep. Roger Williams (R-TX) asked the Subcommittee to include language that would require mandatory exemption for credit unions and small banks from CFPB rules.
Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO) asked the Subcommittee for a number of regulatory relief measures for small financial institutions, including several sections of the Community Lending Enhancement and Regulatory Relief Act.
“All of these are important issues for credit unions and we greatly appreciate the leadership of these members of Congress in asking the Appropriations Committee to act on their requests,” said Donovan. “These requests are very important because we have a short legislative schedule (in 2016) and the appropriations bills represent what could possibly be only a handful of bills that make it across the finish line this year.”