CUNA will be engaged with several hearings in both chambers of Congress this week, including a House Financial Services subcommittee hearing on expanding access to the financial system. The hearing will include discussion of the CUNA-backed Expanding Public Access for Underserved Communities Act.

CUNA wrote in support of the bill in a letter last month, calling it a “solid step forward” for increasing financial inclusion.

The bill would:

• Allow all federal credit unions to add underserved areas to their field of membership;
• Exempt business loans made by credit unions to businesses in underserved areas from the credit union member business lending cap; and
• Expand the definition of an underserved area to include any area that is more than 10 miles from the nearest branch of a financial institution.

The hearing will be conducted by the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions on Wednesday, starting at 10 a.m. ET.

Other hearings CUNA is engaged with this week include:

• Tuesday, 10 a.m. ET: House Financial Services Committee hearing, “Building Back A Better, More Equitable Housing Infrastructure for America: Oversight of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.”
• Tuesday, 10:30 a.m. ET: House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing, “Stopping Digital Thieves: The Growing Threat of Ransomware.”
• Tuesday, 2:30 p.m. ET: Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development hearing, “Safe at Home: Preserving and Improving Federally Assisted Housing.”
• Wednesday, 10:30 a.m. ET: Senate Armed Services Committee closed markup to consider the proposed National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2022.
• Wednesday, 2 p.m. ET: House Financial Services Subcommittee on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship and Capital Markets hearing “Bond Rating Agencies: Examining the ‘Nationally Recognized’ Statistical Rating Organizations.”
• Thursday, 10 a.m. ET: Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment hearing, “Examining Frameworks to Address Future Pandemic Risk.”