Money and the U.S. Capitol
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) has historically been a possible thorn in the side of credit union officials as many pieces of legislation credit union leaders are against could be included in such a large bill that must be approved each December.
According to a House and Senate-compromised version of the NDAA released over the weekend with 1171 amendments, the compromised language does not include the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) or any related study proposals that could bolster any similar regulations; with that news, credit union leaders were very pleased.
Defense Credit Union Council (DCUC) Chief Advocacy Officer Jason Stverak said, “DCUC has consistently been the strongest advocate for ensuring a clean NDAA that supports the financial well-being of servicemembers and veterans. We will continue to counter harmful amendments and protect the credit union industry’s ability to serve these vital communities.”
Anthony Hernandez, DCUC president/CEO, added, “This year, we faced multiple attempts to introduce harmful language into this must-pass legislation. Thanks to the unwavering support of our member credit unions and our dedicated advocacy, we have successfully protected servicemembers’ and veterans' financial wellbeing, the integrity of the FCUA, and the tax-exempt status of credit unions.”
In a call with the press Monday morning, America’s Credit Unions Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, Greg Mesack said, “From our perspective, it’s good because it’s relatively clean – no real controversial provisions in there. No policy riders that are troublesome for credit unions. So they’ll be able to authorize military activities for another year; keep our troops, you know, give them the guidance they need and the authorizations they need and leave credit unions to do what credit unions do best without any unnecessary or detrimental legislation.”
The NDAA for Fiscal Year 2025 is a piece of legislation that funds Department of Defense programs, national security programs and other defense programs with a final cost near $895 billion.
A vote on this compromised version of the NDAA has not been scheduled for a vote in either the House or Senate. Lawmakers have less than two weeks to finalize this and other bills before recessing for the year.
Officials from both DCUC and America’s Credit Unions believe this version of the NDAA will pass.
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Michael Ogden
Editor-in-Chief at CU Times. To connect, email at [email protected]. As Editor-in-Chief of CU Times since 2016, Michael Ogden has led the editorial team in all aspects of content strategy and execution, including the creation of the publication’s exclusive and proprietary research database of the credit union industry’s economic landscape. Under Michael’s leadership, CU Times has successfully shifted to an all-digital editorial product with new focuses on the payments, fraud, lending and regulatory beats. Most recently, he introduced a data-focused editorial product for subscribers that breaks down credit union issues into hard data, allowing for a deeper and more factual narrative for readers. In 2024, he launched the "Shared Accounts With CU Times" podcast, which offers a fresh, inside-the-newsroom perspective through interviews with leaders from the credit union industry and the regulatory world. He dives into pressing credit union issues, while revealing the personalities working behind-the-scenes to push the credit union world forward. His background includes years as a radio and TV anchor/reporter and a public relations and digital/social media manager, where he covered the food and music industries, as well as cooperatives and credit unions. Over the years, he has launched numerous exclusive video and podcast series, including a successful series of interactive backstage interviews with musicians at music festivals, showcasing his social media and live streaming production skills.
