FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   
March 10, 2022
Washington, DC

Senators Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, and Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, introduced the Veterans Member Business Loan Act today. The CUNA-League-backed bill would exempt loans made to veteran-owned businesses from the member business lending cap. 

“Thanks to Sens. Hirono and Sullivan for their bipartisan bill that would provide credit unions the opportunity to meet the needs of veteran business owners,” said CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle. “America’s credit unions have a long history of improving the financial well-being of our members in uniform, and this important legislation will help us do even more.” 

Under current law, credit unions are restricted from lending more than 12.25% of total assets to member businesses. This bill is the latest congressional effort to exempt veteran business loans from the member business lending cap. In 2019, Sens. Hirono and Sullivan introduced similar legislation in the Senate and Reps. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, Paul Cook, R-Calif., and Don Young, R-Alaska, introduced a version in the House. 

Under current law, credit unions are restricted from lending more than 12.25% of total assets to member businesses. This bill is the latest Congressional effort to exempt veteran business loans from the member business lending cap. In 2019, Sens. Hirono and Sullivan introduced similar legislation in the Senate and Reps. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, Paul Cook, R-Calif., and Don Young, R-Alaska, introduced a version in the House. 

This is the fifth credit union-focused bill to see movement since more than 4,500 credit union advocates began meeting with lawmakers as part of the 2022 CUNA Governmental Affairs Conference (GAC). Other recently introduced legislation includes: 

• House Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters, D-Calif., introduced the  Expanding Financial Access for Underserved Communities Act Wednesday.
• The House passed a bipartisan measure to update credit union branch safety Wednesday night.
• A bipartisan group of Representatives introduced a bill to update credit union board meeting requirements during the CUNA GAC.
• A bipartisan Senate bill to update e-signature requirements was also introduced during the CUNA GAC. 

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About CUNA:           
Credit Union National Association (CUNA) is the only national association that advocates on behalf of all of America’s credit unions, which are owned by 130 million consumer members. CUNA, along with its network of affiliated state credit union leagues, delivers unwavering advocacy, continuous professional growth and operational confidence to protect the best interests of all credit unions. For more information about CUNA, visit cuna.org. To find your nearest credit union, visit YourMoneyFurther.com.

CONTACT:          
Deshundra Jefferson 
CUNA Communications 
(202) 809-4081