Magill: On the legislative front

John Magill: An ambitious Congress is proposing legislative measures at breakneck speed.

A “very ambitious Congress” is proposing legislative measures “at breakneck speed,” John Magill, CUNA's senior vice president of legislative affairs, told attendees of a breakout session Wednesday morning.

Two areas--credit card reform and the housing bill that contains the corporate credit union stabilization fund--are very important to credit unions, Magill said. The legislation doesn't include the interchange issue or cramdowns related to bankruptcies, but he said both issues likely would return.

Legislative issues include the corporate system stabilization; member business lending, “which is always on a front burner for CUNA”; alternative capital; data security; student lending, where the federal government would involve itself in student lending and move aside private student lending; and Internet gambling.

CUNA will continue working to protect credit unions’ tax-exempt status, he said. “The tax exemption is worth $1.5 billion to $1.8 billion a year. If legislators are looking at health-care funds and are down to $10 billion, we’re worried they'll look elsewhere for funds. We’ll always have one eye open on that issue.”

The new Consumer Financial Products Agency has the potential to reduce regulatory burden, “but the devil’s in the details,” Magill said. CUNA is working closely with Harvard Professor Elizabeth Warren who is heading up the effort.

“It’s important to not walk away in the beginning. If we can do better, we intend to do so. We did that with the cramdown measure. We’ll try to make a bad bill less bad, if possible.”

Magill urged credit unions to contact their members of Congress to stress the importance of maintaining an independent credit union regulator. “Next week Congress is off. Pick up the phone and tell how important this bill is. Help us help you, and vice versa.”