WASHINGTON – CUNA President and CEO Dan Mica wrote a letter to Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) encouraging the committee to get a bill passed this congressional session. The March 25 letter pointed to the House's overwhelming vote (392-25) to pass H.R. 1375, the Financial Services Regulatory Relief Act. A companion bill has yet to be introduced on the Senate side. Mica reminded Shelby, "Credit unions remain the most highly regulated and restricted of all insured financial institutions." He noted the "severe restrictions" credit unions have faced following the passage of the Credit Union Membership Access Act, which solved some problems but raised others. "As a result, CUNA supports efforts to reduce the regulatory red tape that prevents credit unions from serving their membership and reaching out to underserved and unbanked communities." Mica urged that the Senate Banking Committee get a bill out before the end of the legislative year. "CUNA and its member credit unions strongly encourage the committee to review and consider legislation this year to relieve America's credit unions of unneeded and burdensome regulations," he concluded.