CUNA issued an action alert Wednesday to urge its members to support the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act (S. 2155) as members of Congress have signaled they may take up the bill soon. CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle pointed stakeholders toward CUNA’s Campaign for Common-Sense Regulation website to contact members of Congress to support the bill.

“Congressional leadership is signaling they plan to take up S. 2155 this month. By contacting your representative today, your action can help get this bill through the House and on the President's desk,” Nussle wrote. “S. 2155 passed the Senate in March with strong, bipartisan support which we have not seen in years.

“The benefits of passing this bipartisan, common-sense legislation is a no-brainer for credit unions: it will protect seniors from elder financial abuse, make mortgage processing easier and quicker, increase affordable rental housing in our communities, and help credit unions provide better service to their members,” Nussle added.

CUNA previously joined the Independent Community Bankers of America to write to House members, calling on them to take up and pass the bill. Several leagues around the country have teamed with their respective banking organizations to urge members of their Congressional delegation to support the bill.

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.