WASHINGTON–When Congress returns in September the agenda will be dominated by what will likely be a time and energy-consuming battle over a budget deal, a scenario several Washington experts say could actually work in the favor of credit unions.
Greg Mesack, SVP-government affairs with America’s Credit Unions, said the congressional agenda almost guarantees Congress will remain in session beyond Sept. 30 and legislators could likely still be on Capitol Hill well into December.
That means Congress will need to fill time beyond just work on the appropriations bills, which will create opportunities to move legislation favored by credit unions.
“That means that committees will be around…and will have time to work through these bills, do markups, have hearings and get the process moving,” said Mesack.
Taking Advantage of Suspension Days
Mesack noted that Mondays and Tuesdays are “suspension days” in Congress—days on which Congress can vote on legislation under a suspension of the rules—which provides for additional time to deal with legislation that might otherwise be pushed into another session.
“I think actually the appropriations battle forcing Congress to stay here gives us more time to work on our priorities,” said Mesack.
