America’s Credit Unions President/CEO Jim Nussle urged the House Appropriations Committee to fully fund programs that are important to credit unions, while also addressing areas of concern, in a letter sent Wednesday.
In his letter, Nussle noted America’s Credit Unions supports increasing the budget for the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund from $325 million to $500 million. However, he added that credit unions continue to have issues with the CDFI Fund’s new application process and requirements, and urged the committee to support the CDFI Fund Transparency Act and the Rural Credit Access Act of 2024 to ensure the fund’s resources get to communities that need them.
For the Community Development Revolving Loan Fund (CDRLF), Nussle called for a $6 million budget instead of the $4 million proposed in the 2025 budget.
“Some of these CDRLF technical assistance grants have been used to help credit unions expand their digital services, such as mobile or home banking or electronic bill payment,” wrote Nussle. “Other grants have been used to help small credit unions fight fraud and embed EMV chips in their credit and debit cards.”
Nussle expressed support for select policy riders attached to Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2025. These include bills that prohibit a Small Business Administration direct lending program and limit CFPB overregulation.
Read the full letter. America’s Credit Unions will continue advocating for full funding of credit union programs.
