Defense Deal Omits Free Rent Benefit for Banks; CU Trades Hail Decision
It's unclear at this point if the House or Senate will take up the bill first before it heads to President Trump's desk.
A provision that would have allowed banks the same free rent benefits at military bases that credit unions now have is not included in the massive defense authorization deal report to be considered by the House and Senate in the coming days.
The decision is being hailed as a major victory for credit unions, who had fought against the provision.
The conference report, totaling almost 3,500 pages, includes everything from a new Space Force to provisions giving federal workers 12 weeks of paid parental leave.
The House version of the bill did not include the highly contested bank provision, but the Senate bill did—meaning the highly contentious issued had to be hammered out in conference.
Bankers had argued that providing them with free rent would have established parity with credit unions, while credit unions argued that for-profit institutions should not receive the same benefits they receive.
Last year, the two sides thought they had hammered out compromise language, but credit union trade groups said a drafting error could have resulted in credit unions losing their access to military bases.
Credit union trade groups applauded the conferees’ decision.
“We commend the conference committee for putting our servicemembers’ financial readiness ahead of Wall Street profits in the FY 2020 [defense authorization bill],” CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle said.
“Credit unions always put their members’ best interests before profit, and we applaud the release of a modified [bill] that stripped a bank-sought provision that would have treated banks, such as Wells Fargo, the same as not-for-profit credit unions,” said NAFCU President/CEO B. Dan Berger.