WASHINGTON–The refrain may sound familiar, but credit union attention in Washington this week remains on the GENIUS Act, which CUs consider a smart bill deserving of support, but which also could carry some potential amendments credit unions believe to be not so smart.

The GENIUS Act provides a regulatory scheme and rules of the road for stablecoins, which are a cryptocurrency pegged to a commodity, usually a fiat currency. 

Adding additional attention to the GENIUS Act is that no bill has gone from the Senate Banking Committee to the floor of the Senate for a vote in seven years, and as America’s SVP-Advocacy Greg Mesack noted wryly, “There is some pent-up demand” to get senators’ favored causes added to the legislation.

As has been the case in this session of Congress, credit unions remain wary of any language affecting the CU tax exemption being added to the GENIUS Act. Similar concerns are over any potential amendment, specifically the CU-opposed Credit Card Competition Act, being added, which would likely drive down interchange for all CUs.

President Trump has strongly endorsed the GENIUS Act and it has general bipartisan support. 

Senators Remain Adamant

Showing an equally strong desire to attach as an amendment the Credit Card Competition Act to the GENIUS Act have been Sens. Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Richard Durbin (D-IL), the co-sponsors of the legislation.

“From all indications, (Sen. Marshall) is still very committed to pushing for a vote and America’s Credit Unions has been actively pushing against this,” said Mesack. “We’ve been working with our leagues and our credit unions to reach out to senators. We’ve been working on Capitol Hill. Our lobbying team has been in dozens upon dozens of meetings with Senate staff and senators to talk about this.”

America’s Credit Unions has been called the CCCA a “poison pill” for the GENIUS Act.

Ongoing Wariness

Similarly, the credit union lobby in Washington remains wary of any tax or interchange-related provisions being added to the massive budget reconciliation bill working its way through the Senate.

For credit unions, while numerous committees are working on language related to their specific area of the so-called “big, beautiful bill,” most of the CU attention will be paid to the Senate Finance Committee, which has yet to release its approved language.

Jason Stverak, chief advocacy officer with the Defense CU Council, said he now expects that full text will not be released until next week. Other committees are expected to be sticking with similar timing. 

Joint Letter Sent

The Defense CU Council, America’s Credit Unions and a coalition of credit union trades, leagues, and advocates sent a joint letter to Senate leadership ahead of expected budget reconciliation discussions. 

“The letter highlights our collective opposition to any proposals that threaten the credit union tax status and reiterates credit unions’ mission-first commitment to community reinvestment. DCUC remains engaged on this front and is actively coordinating across the industry to defend the credit union difference,” the organizations said in a statement.

Seeking CDFI Funds

In the Finance Committee credit unions have been pushing for restoration of CDFI Funds, but it’s unknown whether the money will be budgeted. The Trump Administration budget axes nearly all CDFI Funding. 

With the budget reconciliation bill, so much is in flux and the bill is so large Stverak said that creates ripe conditions for changes and modifications.

He noted DCUC has joined with other organizations in sending multiple letters to the Hill outlining their opposition to the Credit Card Competition Act and to any changes to the CU tax status.

Support for Two Bills

America’s Credit Unions’ Mesack said the trade group is happy to see:

• The reintroduction of the “Advancing the Mentor Protégé Program for Small Financial Institutions Act’ be reintroduced by Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH), which seeks to codify the Financial Agent Mentor-Protégé Program at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The program pairs up small and rural financial institutions with large banks and credit unions, providing resources, training, and technical assistance to help them better serve their communities and become Financial Agents to Treasury.
• The introduction of so-called “trigger leads” legislation (HR 2808 and S. 1467), which seek to amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to prohibit consumer reporting agencies from furnishing a trigger lead except in limited circumstances. It passed the Senate during the last Congress but was not passed by the House.