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Congressional Democrats continue their work on the Biden Administration’s Build Back Better Plan, which has been under negotiation for several weeks now. The framework of the plan has yet to be agreed to, so interested parties have not seen the actual language contained in the proposal. It has been widely reported that part of the plan would include new IRS reporting requirements on financial accounts of $600 in value or higher. Recently it has been conveyed that the threshold would be increased to accounts valued at $10,000 or higher. The threshold increase has not made the bill more palatable to the financial service industry, including the League and our national partners at CUNA.
The League recently signed a joint letter to congressional leaders with CUNA and other leagues to express our concerns about the proposal. The letter also stated that the increase in the account threshold did not make the proposal more acceptable.
Earlier this week, an encouraging development came from Senator Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) when he publicly commented about the potential for excluding the proposal from the Democrat package. Manchin reportedly told the President that, “This cannot happen. It is screwed up.” Given the 50-50 split in the Senate, Manchin’s vote is pivotal in enacting any final plan.
On Tuesday, Senator Collins co-sponsored a bill that would prohibit the implementation of the reporting requirements. “Allowing the IRS to monitor hardworking Americans’ bank accounts is not only an invasion of privacy, but also a vast overreach by the federal government,” said Senator Collins. “This intrusive measure would grant the IRS access to essentially every American’s financial information. Our legislation would block the Administration from implementing this terrible proposal.”
In an email communication to leagues, Ryan Donovan, Chief Advocacy Officer of CUNA, cautioned expectations. However, there are reports that the Biden Administration has removed the provision entirely from the Build Back Better framework released Thursday morning. While this action is a very positive sign for credit unions, until the proposal is finalized and put up for a vote in both chambers of Congress, we must continue our advocacy in opposition.
The League would like to thank the many Maine credit unions that have engaged in advocacy efforts to oppose the proposal. Please continue to contact the League’s Governmental Affairs team with any questions, requests, or follow up.