Credit unions saw several victories this week with the House passing a Congressional Budget Resolution and emergency disaster funding legislation that contains several CUNA-supported items. The House voted in favor Thursday of the Senate-passed budget resolution, and approved the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Requirements Act of 2017 (H.R. 2266) Wednesday.

H.R. 2266 was passed by the Senate Tuesday, and President Donald Trump is expected to sign the bill into law shortly.

“This emergency legislation is a big victory for credit unions by maintaining the viability of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), allowing credit unions to continue to make mortgage loans to members who live in areas where flood insurance is required,” said Ryan Donovan, CUNA’s Chief Advocacy Officer.

The bill provides for $16 billion in debt relief for the NFIP, in addition to $18.7 for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and $576.5 million for wildfire assistance.

The budget resolution includes a prohibition on the use of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guarantee fees from being used to offset other federal government spending, a prohibition which CUNA has been a longtime supporter of.

The budget resolution does not include several concerning provisions to credit unions present in earlier versions. Most notably, CUNA, league and credit union advocacy efforts helped remove a provision that would have placed NCUA under the appropriations process.

With the budget passing both chambers of Congress, the path has been laid for Congress to release more details on tax reform.

The House Ways and Means Committee is expected to release the text of its tax reform legislation Nov. 1, with a multi-day markup expected to start Nov. 6.

Full House consideration expected the week of Nov. 13.

The Senate Finance Committee is expected to markup its tax reform bill the week of Nov. 13, with Senate floor consideration the week of Nov. 20.

Following Senate passage, CUNA expects House and Senate negotiators to reconcile their bills, with House and Senate passage of the tax reform conference report the week before Christmas.