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Late Wednesday afternoon, the Senate passed the CUNA and Maine CU League-backed, bipartisan Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act (S. 2155) Wednesday, in a strong step forward for much-needed regulatory relief. CUNA and your League strongly supported the bill since it was introduced, and aggressive grassroots support including more than 50,000 messages sent to Senate offices. The League and Maine CUs did its part with in-person meetings at the recent Governmental Affairs Conference with Senators Collins and King, an early co-sponsor of the bill, and nearly 500 emails and phone calls by Maine CUs to their offices.
Todd Mason, President of the Maine CU League, said getting support of both of Maine's senators "reinforces the positive impact of grassroots advocacy and engagement. Our meeting with Senator Collins in Washington made a big difference in getting her support for this bill. Additionally, our conversations about the need for regulatory relief dating back to our visit with Senator King at Hike the Hill this fall, also played a significant role in not only getting his support but also for him to be an early co-sponsor of the legislation."
After the bill passed, Jim Nussle, President/CEO of CUNA, issued a statement to your League. "We thank the Senators who put party politics aside and listened to credit union stakeholders around the country to support a bill that will greatly benefit credit unions and the 110 million members they serve. We're grateful to see both sides come together to pass a meaningful piece of regulatory reform legislation, and CUNA will continue its engagement to continue this positive momentum and see the bill move through the House. This is a great step forward, but we need to continue to make out voices heard to get this bill through the House and across the finish line."
Specifically, S. 2155 would:
- Establish a safe harbor from certain requirements for a loan to be considered a Qualified Mortgage;
- Rescind the additional data points required under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act for insured credit unions that originate fewer than 500 closed-end and/or 500 open-end lines of credit;
- Reclassify one-to-four unit, non-owner occupied residential loans as real estate loans, so the loan would not count against the member business lending cap;
- Clarify that that the same consumer protections in place with respect to mortgage lending are nonexistent for Property Assessed Clean Energy loans;
- Remove the three-day wait period required for the combined TRID mortgage disclosure if a creditor extends to a consumer a second offer of credit with a lower annual percentage rate;
- Require NCUA to make publicly available a draft of their proposed budget, hold a hearing with public notice during which this draft would be discussed and solicit and consider public comment about the draft budget;
- Provide a safe harbor for properly trained financial employees who report alleged elder financial abuse; and
- Require the U.S. Department of Treasury to conduct a study on the risks that cyber threats may pose to financial institutions.
After its passage in the Senate, S. 2155 now goes to the House for consideration. Your League has already engaged in communications and discussions with Congresswoman Pingree and Congressman Poliquin on this legislation, and will continue to do so as it moves forward.