Congress must pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2020 before Sept. 30, and each chamber has passed its own version. The differences will be sorted out in conference committee, and CUNA will continue its engagement in the process to keep a provision contained in the Senate NDAA out of the final bill.

Section 2821 of the Senate-passed NDAA would expand the exemption that allows for the waiving of certain fees and land lease costs for credit unions on military installations. The exemption would be expanded to include other financial institutions that meet the same criteria.

CUNA strongly opposes the inclusion of this language and worked to ensure no such provision appears in the House-passed version of the bill.

CUNA and Leagues wrote to House and Senate Armed Services Committee leaders in early August to urge all members of the conference committee to reject the inclusion of Section 2821.

The letter notes that credit unions’ nature as not-for-profit financial cooperatives means “credit unions on military bases are focused on ensuring the financial readiness of America’s service members. The credit union mission and structure mean funds are reinvested in the bases and the military communities that they operate in through lower rates, better products and more responsive services for our servicemembers.”

CUNA successfully fought against inclusion of a similar provision in last year’s NDAA.