Senate advances Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill

The FY 2019 Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) appropriations bill, which advanced in the U.S. Senate this week, includes full funding for two programs supported by the National Association of Federally Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU).

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The appropriations bill included full funding for the National Credit Union Administration’s Community Development Revolving Loan Fund (CDRLF) as well as the U.S. Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund.

The House had advanced its version of the FSGG bill, which included a slightly lower level of funding for the CDFI program. Both the House and Senate bills include full funding for the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) 7(a) and 504 loan programs, which are also used by credit unions.

“NAFCU appreciates and supports the Senate’s efforts to fully and appropriately fund the CDFI Fund, NCUA’s Community Development Revolving Loan Fund and SBA loan programs important to credit unions,” NAFCU Vice President of Legislative Affairs Brad Thaler said. “NAFCU also remains laser-focused on bringing about much needed regulatory relief to credit unions. In particular, we will continue to push for a delay of the NCUA’s risk-based capital rule, among other provisions included in the House version.”

The House and Senate will now move to reconcile the differences between the two bills.

“As the House and Senate finalize funding for the upcoming year, we hope that they will fully fund programs important to credit unions while also advancing important regulatory relief measures,” Thaler said.