Military Coalition Endorses Plan to Give Banks Rent-Free Access to Military Bases

Amid intense lobbying by banks and credit unions, a coalition of 34 veteran and active servicemember groups has endorsed a Senate plan to give banks the same free rent benefits that credit unions now have.

The Military Coalition, which includes such groups as AMVETS, Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Wounded Warrior Project, has produced a lengthy list of areas they support or oppose in the massive defense authorization bill.

The banking provision is one of many it included in a spreadsheet sent to lawmakers.

House and Senate conferees are now meeting to resolve differences between the annual defense bills. The Senate version would provide banks with free rent on military bases, while the House bill is silent on the issue.

“We’re working through the conference committee process to make sure the conference report doesn’t have the Senate provision,” CUNA Chief Advocacy Officer Ryan Donovan said.

NAFCU also is lobbying hard on the issue, as is the Defense Credit Union Council.

“Rather than granting nominal leases to banks and credit unions, the DoD could very well decide to stop granting nominal leases altogether,” Brad Thaler, NAFCU’s vice president of legislative affairs said in a letter to lawmakers. “We do not want to subject the ability of defense credit unions to serve their members to the political winds surrounding big bank consumer abuses.”

Thaler said that the Defense Department is not required to provide the rent benefits to credit unions; the department chooses to do it.

Tony Hernandez, president/CEO of the DCUC, told the CU Times,” We do not fear competition from banks, especially on base. We simply put our members first—ahead of profit.”

By the same token, banks have been pushing conferees to adopt the Senate provision.

“Whatever anyone thinks of the underlying agendas of the banks and credit unions engaged over this issue, it should be clear from [The Military Coalition’s] support that parity between them will benefit military communities,” Steven Lepper, president/CEO of the Association of Military Banks of America said.

His position is bolstered by a letter of support from the American Bankers Association and the Independent Community Bankers of America. The bankers said that banks have been leaving military installations and providing them with the same benefits that credit unions receive would encourage more of them to stay on bases.

In a letter to House-Senate conferees, a group of House members led by Reps. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) and Paul Cook (R-Calif.) pointed out that the Pentagon did not request that banks be given the same rent-free access as credit unions and in fact, has opposed the provision in the past.

This battle occurs every year, as Congress considers a defense authorization bill every year.

“This is a big bill,” Donovan said, adding that the banking plan “is a small provision with perhaps a lower priority” than many of the weapons and other proposals in the House and Senate bills.