Both Of Maine's U.S. House Members Support CU-Backed Reg. Relief Bills

April 16, 2015

With Congresswoman Pingree and Congressman Poliquin in support of regulatory relief bills backed by your League and the Credit Union National Association (CUNA), all of the bills were overwhelmingly passed by U.S. House of Representatives in votes taken this past week.  During your League's Breakfast for Maine's Congressional Delegation held last month in Washington, D.C., many of these bills were discussed as part of the context for credit unions receiving much needed regulatory relief.  Your League has also communicated with both members of Congress about these issues on other occasions.

"We appreciate the fact that Congresswoman Pingree and Congressman Poliquin voted in support of all of these bills that will help Maine credit unions to better serve their members," remarked your League's President John Murphy.

Among the CUNA and League-supported bills approved by resoundingly favorable votes in the House were:

  • The Privacy Notice Modernization Act (H.R. 601), which would require financial institutions to send privacy policy notifications only when the policy has changed.
  • Helping Expand Lending Practices in Rural Communities Act (H.R. 1259), which would direct the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to establish an application process for determining whether an area should be defined as "rural," which would impact products credit unions in those areas could offer.
  • Bureau Advisory Commission Transparency Act (H.R. 1265), which would open up meetings of the CFPB's Credit Union Advisory Council to the public; and
  • The SAFE Confidentiality and Privilege Enhancement Act (H.R. 1480) would allow state and federal regulatory officials with financial services industry oversight authority to access information provided to the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry without the loss of confidentiality protections provided by federal and state laws.

All of the bills will now move to the Senate where they will first be considered by the Senate Banking Committee.  "We will continue to communicate the need for regulatory relief that reduces the burden on credit unions, and these bills are a great start.  As they move through the Senate, your League will remain engaged with Senators Collins and King and their staffs on these issues and the benefits they would provide to Maine's credit unions and our 651,000 members," added Murphy.