As of last week, both the U.S. House and Senate returned from the August break in their schedule and jumped into multiple issues of note to credit unions ranging from housing, student loans, inclusion, and appraisal management company reform to name a few. Of note to credit unions, two of the bills to pass the full U.S. House:
- On September 10th the full U.S. House passed a credit union-supported bill on appraiser requirements: the Homebuyer Assistance Act of 2019 (H.R. 2852). H.R. 2852 would ensure the Federal Housing Administration’s appraiser requirements are identical to those currently employed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for licensed appraisers.
- On September 10th the full U.S. House passed another credit union-supported bill, the Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act of 2019 (H.R. 281). H.R. 281 would require the Federal Reserve banks to interview at least one candidate reflective of gender diversity and one candidate of racial or ethnic diversity when appointing presidents.
To help continue to advance the credit union perspective and interests on the issues taking shape in Washington, D.C., CUNA wrote on behalf of the industry prior to a hearing of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee on housing finance reform. Particularly, what must be included in the secondary mortgage market (as the hearing was looking at reforms, and the president’s proposal to return Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to privately held companies. Credit unions must be included, and not only have equal access (regardless of size), but the new housing finance schematic must be affordable for lenders of all sizes to protect the consumer’s access. And while this issue is far from over, staying engaged from the early onset and pushing for credit unions to have clear, clean and affordable access to the secondary mortgage market is paramount to the industry’s ability to put consumers into homes and help them achieve their goals. Stay tuned!
