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Lawmakers were busy on Capitol Hill Wednesday as the House voted to accept the Senate's changes to the next round of coronavirus relief, the House Small Business Committee reviewed the status of the paycheck protection program (PPP), and senators considered several nominations to President Joe Biden's cabinet and federal agencies.

Coronavirus relief

UPDATE: Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act Thursday afternoon.

The $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package – the American Rescue Plan Act – now heads to the president for enactment; Biden is expected to sign the bill tomorrow. It includes some NAFCU-supported provisions to help small businesses survive and recover from the pandemic and provide assistance to homeowners and renters. The association had called on lawmakers to include additional tools to credit unions to better serve their members facing financial hardships and will continue to advocate on these issues.

The legislation also expands some tax credits and provides another round of economic impact payments (EIPs) up to $1,400 depending on income. NAFCU has been active with other financial industry trade and consumer groups in calling for language to protect this round of EIPs from garnishment. Earlier this week, the groups asked Congress to pass standalone legislation to address the issue and ensure American families receive these benefits as attended. They followed up on that ask with a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urging her to support this action.

PPP hearing

During the House Small Business Committee's hearing on the PPP, lawmakers raised concerns about the amount of loans facing hold codes that are delaying the approval process. NAFCU recently raised the issue to the committee and called on the Small Business Administration to make every effort to clear the holds as the program is set to end March 31. Any loan that has not been processed and approved by the SBA by that date will not be eligible to receive funds, and some committee members indicated support for solutions that would allow applications submitted by the date to still be processed.

Lawmakers and witnesses also offered support for making recent changes to how Schedule C filers calculate payroll costs retroactive. NAFCU had also raised this concern ahead of the hearing, and the SBA has indicated it will need congressional action to do so.

On the forgiveness process, witnesses said the streamlined application for loans under $150,000 – for which NAFCU advocated – had been extremely helpful to small borrowers.

Nominations

In the Senate, Marcia Fudge was confirmed Wednesday by the chamber to serve as secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). NAFCU engages with HUD on housing finance reform and other compliance issues, such as disparate impact, and is closely monitoring its efforts to support homeowners and renters amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Senate Banking Committee Wednesday advanced Rohit Chopra's nomination to lead the CFPB. Although the committee's vote ended in a tie, Chopra's nomination will still go to the full chamber for consideration. During his nomination hearing, several credit union issues were covered. NAFCU's Regulatory Committee discussed the pending nomination earlier this week.

Stay tuned to NAFCU Today for the latest out of Washington.