For instance, the Senate Banking Committee not only will hold confirmation hearings and votes on high-profile cabinet nominees, but also for nominees for lower-profile agencies, such as the Export-Import Bank, and yes, the NCUA.

Confirmation hearings and votes definitely are a factor, Ryan Donovan, CUNA's chief advocacy officer, said.

“That could, and likely will, delay the Senate Banking Committee,” he said.

The House already has passed the REINS Act, which would require that federal agencies send significant regulations to Congress before they are implemented. The House also has passed legislation that would allow Congress to package rules it wants rescinded into one piece of legislation for its consideration.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has introduced the REINS Act in the Senate, where it was referred to the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which has not yet acted on the bill.

In addition, House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) is expected to re-introduce his CHOICE Act, which replaces the Dodd-Frank financial services regulatory regime.

The legislation, as introduced last year, would convert the CFPB into a five-member commission and make it subject to the annual appropriations process. It would do the same with the NCUA board and reduce the regulatory burden for some banks and credit unions.

That legislation received the support of House Republican leadership, which included it as part of its legislative agenda for the year.

The CHOICE Act was not introduced in the Senate last year. Then-Senate Banking Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) had his own legislation that would have provided regulatory relief for financial institutions, but the Senate never considered it.

The House has also considered changes to the CFPB in appropriations measures, but the Senate never has.

And then, there's the threshold needed to pass legislation in the Senate. That could also slow the Senate and limit what can be accomplished during this Congress.

In the House, the Republican leadership controls the flow of legislation through the Rules Committee, which sets limits on debate and amendments.

The Senate does not have such a body and as a result, debate usually is not limited. That often results in the majority party leaders filing a cloture motion to limit debate.

Passage of cloture motion requires a 60-vote majority, rather than a 50-vote majority.

Republicans have 52 members in the Senate. As a result, Republicans must rely on Democrats to move legislation.

“The net result is that the House will pass its comprehensive reform legislation, but the Senate will struggle to produce a legislative vehicle that can be taken to a House and Senate joint conference committee in order to iron out the differences between the two bills,” Marvin Umholtz, president/CEO of Umholtz Strategic Planning & Consulting Services in Olympia, Wash., said. “I am convinced that they will succeed with producing that regulatory relief, however, it will not come as rapidly or as comprehensively as proponents would like.”

It also remains unclear whether new Senate Banking Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Id.) will try to move a comprehensive regulatory measure, such as the CHOICE Act, or rely on smaller, incremental regulatory changes.

“It depends on what the House does and what Crapo can move through the committee,” Thaler said. “There are a lot of different routes it could take.”

Donovan said that floor debate time in the Senate may be at a premium this year, so Crapo may decide to try to push a comprehensive bill. On the other hand, he said, it often is easier to gain the requisite votes when a smaller, incremental bill is considered.

Crapo is likely to bring a more bipartisan atmosphere to the Banking Committee, Thaler said.

“He has a track record of finding common ground,” he said. “He has a track record of getting things done.”

John McKechnie, CUNA's former director of political affairs agreed that Crapo often has been able to reach across the aisle to Democrats.

“Crapo is a substantive guy, and he has shown an ability to work with Democrats, so that's a reason for optimism that Senate Banking will produce real results this year,” McKechnie, now a senior partner at Total Spectrum, said. 

Despite all the caveats, former NCUA Chairman Dennis Dollar said he is confident that substantial legislation will pass.

“I believe there will be considerable legislative focus on reigning in some of the regulatory excess of the past eight years, particularly in regard to the CFPB,” Dollar, now a principal partner at Dollar Associates in Birmingham, Ala., said. He said he believes that Congress will succeed in converting the CFPB into a five-member board rather than an agency governed by a single director.

He added that congressional Republicans and President Trump may have an even larger impact by conducting strict oversight of regulatory agencies.

McKechnie agreed that working together, President Trump and Republicans on Capitol Hill will succeed in alleviating some of the regulatory burden for credit unions.

“As an overall observation, credit unions have reason for optimism that real regulatory relief addressing the CFPB as well as other Dodd-Frank imposed rules will become law at some point in the 115th Congress,” he said. “Timetables are always slippery, but there seems to be both the political and policy will to get the job done.”