The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) included several items of interest to credit unions in its FY24 draft bill, including Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) reforms.
Regarding CRPB reforms, the bill calls for funding the bureau through the appropriations process and replace the single director with a bipartisan, five-member commission. These are both priorities that the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) has championed.
“We fully support the bill’s reforms to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which would provide additional transparency and accountability to the bureau,” CUNA President and CEO Jim Nussle said.
On the other hand, it also contains about $46 million less for the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund.
“However, we strongly encourage the committee to increase funding levels for the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. The fund is an extremely good use of federal funds, as it leverages those dollars into real differences for communities. We’re disappointed Congress would propose a nearly $46 million cut at a time when communities are struggling,” Nussle added.
It also contains provisions to prohibit: the CFPB from using funds to enforce its section 1071 rule; funding for the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to promulgate the beneficial ownership reporting rules that do not reflect Congressional intent; funds for the Federal Housing Finance Agency to charge good credit borrowers with higher fees on their home loan; and funds to be used to establish a U.S. Central Bank Digital Currency or discontinue paper currency as the U.S. legal tender.
Finally, the bill funds NCUA’s Community Development Revolving Loan Fund at $3.5 million, which is the same level as last year.
CUNA has reached out to committee leadership in support of the CFPB reforms. In addition, it has called on committee leaders to provide additional support for the CDFI Fund as well as more funding for Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.