WASHINGTON— Both the Defense Credit Union Council (DCUC) and America’s Credit Unions have sent a series of letters to Congress on a range of issues tied to committee hearings, appropriations, nominations, and pending legislation.
Those letters include:
Senate Special Committee on Aging
Ahead of the committee’s hearing, “Protecting Older Americans: Leveling the Playing Field for Older Workers,” DCUC urged lawmakers to prioritize senior and veteran members by expanding financial literacy programs, retirement planning, fraud prevention, fee-free accounts, and competitive savings products.
Chief Advocacy Officer Jason Stverak also called for stronger fraud protections, greater financial inclusion, and policies to combat age discrimination, support job retraining, and recognize older workers’ contributions.
House Small Business Committee
In testimony submitted for the hearing “Wired for Growth: How Expanding Broadband Can Revitalize Rural Small Businesses,” DCUC urged Congress to:
- Pass the Veterans Member Business Loan Act (H.R. 4867/S. 539) to ease credit access for veteran-owned businesses.
- Expand rural capital access by increasing credit union participation in SBA and USDA lending and modernizing field-of-membership rules.
- Invest in rural broadband and technical assistance to help small businesses grow through digital tools.
House Appropriations Committee
In a letter on FY2026 Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) Appropriations, DCUC recommended:
- Restoring CDFI Fund appropriations to $324 million.
- Maintaining NCUA’s Community Development Revolving Loan Fund at $4 million.
- Supporting SBA lending for small business and disaster recovery.
- Upholding the prohibition on an unauthorized U.S. central bank digital currency (CBDC).
Federal Reserve Board Nomination
Ahead of the Sept. 4 hearing on Stephen Miran’s nomination to the Federal Reserve Board, DCUC stressed the need for Fed policies that support affordable, secure financial services. Key issues included:
- Regulation II (Interchange): Urging caution on expanded caps or routing mandates, warning changes could hurt consumers and community lenders.
- FedNow Real-Time Payments: Applauding the launch while pressing for accessibility and affordability for credit unions of all sizes.
- Emergency Liquidity Facilities: Calling for permanent, broader access to the Central Liquidity Facility, including agent roles for corporates.
- CBDC: Opposing a retail-oriented U.S. CBDC, citing risks to deposits, privacy, and cybersecurity, and urging explicit Congressional authorization.
- Fair Access and Inclusion: Warning against “debanking” vulnerable populations and stressing the role of credit unions in serving military families and underserved communities.
- Fed Transparency: Encouraging more openness in regulatory and emergency lending decisions while preserving independence in monetary policy.
Armed Services Committees
Finally, DCUC wrote to Armed Services Committee leaders opposing the inclusion of the Durbin-Marshall interchange proposal (Credit Card Competition Act) and a commissary interchange fee study in the FY2026 NDAA.
The council argued the measures are unrelated to defense and would harm consumers, community lenders, and military families. Concerns included:
- Consumers: Higher fraud risk, fewer rewards, and no proven savings from past interchange caps.
- Community Financial Institutions: Disproportionate harm to small lenders, reduced credit access, and higher fees.
- Military Families: Weakened financial protections and reduced access to affordable credit.
- Commissary Study: Potential privacy risks and a misleading premise, with fears it could lead to government-run credit cards and harsher debt collection.
America’s Credit Unions Letter on CTR/SAR Thresholds
Separately, America’s Credit Unions has sent a letter to the House Rules Committee in support of adding an amendment that updates the Currency Transaction Reports (CTR) and Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) thresholds to the FY26 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
As the CU Daily reported earlier, America’s Credit Unions made a similar request during a meeting with Treasury. The CTR threshold has not been updated since 1972.
The letter, sent by the trade group’s president and CEO, Jim Nussle, supports an amendment from Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA).
The amendment seeks to increase the CTR filing threshold to $30,000 (up from the current $10,000) and increase the SAR reporting threshold to $10,000 (up from the current $5,000) among other steps. Increasing the thresholds is a strong priority for credit unions.
“This change in the reporting threshold will significantly reduce the compliance burden on credit unions, allowing them to serve their members better while still allowing law enforcement to review on significant transactions that could offer various security concerns,” the letter reads.
America’s Credit Unions noted the amendment includes the text of Loudermilk’s bill, H.R. 1799, to update the thresholds, which was introduced in March with strong America’s Credit Unions and league support.
Letter On FY26 Financial Services & General Government Bill
In addition, with the House Appropriations Committee meeting today to mark up its FY26 Financial Services and General Government Bill, America’s Credit Unions sent a letter expressing several of its priorities, including:
- Funding the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund at $324 million, which would match this year’s level. The bill currently appropriates $276.6 million for FY26;
- Funding NCUA’s Community Development Revolving Loan Fund at $4 million, the same as this year. The CDRLF funds technical assistance grants for credit unions. The bill currently contains $3.4 million for FY26
- Full funding for the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan program.
