President Joe Biden signed the Credit Union Governance Modernization Act into law as part of the omnibus bill Tuesday.

The Senate passed the omnibus funding package March 10 night including the CUNA-League supported Credit Union Governance Modernization Act. The bill—which passed the House earlier this week—funds the federal government and National Flood Insurance Program through Sept. 30.

The Credit Union Governance Modernization Act, introduced by Reps. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., and Ed Perlmutter, D-Colo, with a Senate companion led by Sens. Tina Smith, D-Minn., and Ben Sasse, R-Neb., amends the Federal Credit Union Act to allow credit unions to enhance branch safety.

“This common-sense bill will allow credit unions to ensure the safety of their branches, employees, and members, keeping resources focused on improving consumers’ financial well-being,” said Jim Nussle, CUNA president/CEO. “We thank Reps. Emmer and Perlmutter, as well as Sens. Tina Smith and Ben Sasse, for working with CUNA and the Leagues on this important issue.”

“We can all agree that Americans should have access to safe and reliable financial services. Federal credit unions must have a streamlined process for removing dangerous members from the credit union. Up until now, we have failed in providing this because the current law is outdated and ineffective,” Emmer said. “My bill, the Credit Union Governance Modernization Act, will keep credit union members and employees safe by creating a framework for federal credit unions to swiftly remove a member for cause. We must prioritize a financial system that keeps Americans safe.”

The omnibus bill also contains several items of interest to credit unions, including:

• $295 million for the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund, $25 million more than the FY21 level.
• $1.545 million for NCUA’s Community Development Revolving Loan Fund.
• $18.5 million for the U.S Agency for International Development’s Cooperative Development Program.
• Legislation providing replacement interest rates for loans, securities, and other instruments relying on LIBOR.
• Legislation requiring a wide range of companies responsible for U.S. critical infrastructure, including depository institutions, to report cybersecurity incidents to the government to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
• Report language supporting NCUA’s policy of prioritizing access to CDRLF grants by minority depository institutions and credit unions with less than $100 million in assets. The committee expects that NCUA shall ensure that grant writers shall be an eligible expense for technical assistance grants to small credit unions provided under the CDRLF Program.
• Report language encouraging NCUA to identify census tracts with large shares of unbanked individuals and explore strategies for increasing access to credit unions in these communities.