Reps. French Hill, R-Ark., and Young Kim, R-Calif., addressed the 2024 Governmental Affairs Conference (GAC) Tuesday, expressing their support for the work credit unions do, and pledging to push back against government overreach.
Hill, vice chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and chair of the Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion, said he not only opposes the Big Box Bailout bill, but also the attempts by bill sponsors to tack it onto unrelated legislative packages.
“This bill has been introduced in both chambers, but in the House we’ve had no hearings, we’ve not had that legislation come to the committee, being marked up, and subject to amendment,” he said.
“You’ve heard a tired buzzword, we use ‘regular order.’ When we say ‘regular order,’ it means you introduce a bill, it gets assigned to a committee for hearings where there are people for it and who are against it and they amend it, and it goes to the House floor for a vote, and then we see what happens,” he added. “That has not happened—not one of those steps—in the House of Representatives on this particular issue.”
He added that he also opposes the “avalanche of rulemaking” that’s been seen recently across all financial regulators, especially the CFPB.
“What House Republicans have done is say: show us your homework. Why are you proposing this rule? Where’s the cost benefit analysis that indicated we need this rule?” he said, adding that they have used and will continue to use the Congressional Review Act and oversight hearings to respond to CFPB activities.
Kim—who introduced the credit union-supported Expanding Access to Lending Options Act with Reps. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis., Juan Vargas, D-Calif., and Brad Sherman, D-Calif.—said the bill will help increase access to credit unions.
“This bipartisan bill will allow credit unions to offer more loan options and increase the maturities of loans from 15 years to 20 years. It will strengthen access to credit and affordability for families, small businesses, and students,” she said.
She also said she supports credit union efforts against regulatory overreach.
“As a member of the House Financial Services Committee, I’ll continue to hold the CFPB, Director Chopra, and other federal agencies accountable to ensure American credit unions continue providing essential services to families and small business,” she said.
Use #GAC2024 on social media to engage with America’s Credit Unions and industry advocates throughout the 2024 Governmental Affairs Conference.
