Reps. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) today introduced legislation that would exempt all credit union member business loans made during a declared disaster from the member business lending cap for one year. Credit Union National Association (CUNA) and its League partners requested a similar exemption be made in its engagement with Congress and the administration.
“Thanks to Reps. Sherman and Fitzpatrick for their bipartisan introducing this to ensure that all available business credit is deployable during and after the pandemic so small businesses can get back to business and Main Street communities can recover quickly,” said CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle. “We look forward to engaging further with Congress to advance this bipartisan legislation.”
The Access to Credit for Small Businesses Impacted by the COVID–19 Crisis Act of 2021 is designed to help ensure credit unions have the flexibility necessary to be able to provide their member businesses with the access to credit they need during the pandemic and throughout the economic recovery.
The bill’s introduction comes as CUNA kicks off its 2021 Governmental Affairs Conference, and the enhanced flexibility is one of CUNA’s top COVID relief priorities.