DC Update: Week of 11/30 Posted by AVCU on 12:23 PM

Congress is back in Washington to begin the homestretch of the first session of the 111th Congress. The House returns tomorrow and will consider bills under suspension of the rules. On Wednesday, the House will consider additional bills under suspension of the rules before considering H.R. 4154, the Permanent Estate Tax Relief for Families, Farmers and Small Businesses Act of 2009. The Senate returns today to resume consideration of H.R. 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. While this week will be quiet for most Committees, there are several committee meetings of interest to credit unions on both sides of the Capitol:

· Today, the House Financial Services Committee Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation will hold a field hearing entitled, "Improving Responsible Lending to Small Businesses." This hearing will be held in Southfield, Michigan. Dave Adams, President and CEO of the Michigan Credit Union League, will be testifying.

· On Wednesday, the House Financial Services Committee will resume mark-up of H.R. 3996, the Financial Stability Improvements Act, and H.R. 2609, the Federal Insurance Office Act. The pending business is a vote to approve H.R. 3996 and report it favorably to the House of Representatives; this vote was delayed when the Committee met on November 19. After the mark-up on Wednesday, the Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing on the Fiscal Year 2009 Federal Housing Administration Actuarial Report.

· On Thursday, the House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing on H.R. 2266, the Reasonable Prudence in Regulation Act, and H.R. 2267, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act. CUNA supports H.R. 2266, which would impose a one year moratorium on the enforcement of regulations enforcing the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. These regulations were scheduled to go into effect on December 1; however, last week the Department of Treasury and the Federal Reserve announced that they would postpone enforcement until June 2010.

· Also on Thursday, the Senate Banking Committee will hold a confirmation hearing on the nomination of Ben Bernanke to continue as Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.

Looking forward to next week, we expect that the House will be considering several regulatory restructuring proposals, including H.R. 3126, the Consumer Financial Protection Agency Act. It is not clear at this point when the Senate Banking Committee will resume its consideration of regulatory restructuring legislation; however, some are speculating that it will not be before December 14. These schedules would suggest that the likelihood that overdraft protection legislation comes before either committee of jurisdiction before the end of the year is low; however, if schedules slip, it is possible that one of the committees may attempt to move an overdraft bill out of committee.