More than 200 members of Congress wrote to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen Thursday re-asserting concerns with a proposal to expand Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reporting requirements. The letter was led by Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), who led a letter signed by more than 140 members of Congress with similar concerns last month.
Both letters are the result of strong CUNA and League engagement with policymakers.
“Since [the first letter], hundreds of thousands of our constituents have reached out to our offices—in addition to every state bank and credit union association—voicing their opposition to this initiative,” the letter reads. “Your Department’s response to these concerns was not only insincere, but also demonstrated just how out-of-touch the proponents of this effort are with the grave and sincere concerns that millions of Americans have with this idea.”
The signers note the same concerns as CUNA, Leagues, and credit unions with talks of raising the account threshold—that it will not make a difference—and said the proposal leads to “valid concerns” over the IRS’s ability to protect the data of Americans.
Eighteen members of the House Ways and Means Committee also sent a letter this week to Yellen.
CUNA’s action alert calling on stakeholders to share their concerns with Congress has resulted in nearly 600,000 messages sent to Capitol Hill. Comments can still be sent using CUA’s Grassroots Action Center.
Credit unions can also activate their members to send messages to Capitol Hill through CUNA’s Member Activation Program (MAP) community.