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Thaler stresses importance of funding for CDFIs, CDRLF
As the full House Appropriations Committee today marks up the fiscal year 2021 financial services and general government (FSGG) bill, NAFCU Vice President of Legislative Affairs Brad Thaler reiterated the association's call for full funding for the Treasury Department's Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund and the NCUA's Community Development Revolving Loan Fund (CDRLF).
The bill advanced by the FSGG subcommittee included $273.5 million for the CDFI Fund, which is an increase over last year’s enacted $262 million amount but lower than last year's House-approved level of $300 million. The subcommittee also approved $2 million for the NCUA's CDRLF.
Thaler noted that the CDRLF benefits low-income credit unions as it provides technical assistance grants, and the NCUA has seen increased demand for these grants amid the coronavirus pandemic as credit unions work to ensure they have the proper infrastructure in place for work-from-home and social distancing measures.
The NCUA in April said it would use the majority of the 2020 CDRLF for coronavirus assistance. NCUA Board Member Todd Harper has also requested Congress provide the fund with $10 million more for grants this year.
Thaler acknowledged the House-passed HEROES Act's inclusion of an additional $1 billion in emergency funding for the CDFI Fund, saying that the added funds "would allow more credit unions to access monies to provide specific programs to help their members." Thaler called on committee members to consider ways to ease the process for credit unions to become a CDFI; lawmakers have acknowledged that CDFIs have stepped up to support consumers and business owners throughout the crisis.
As small businesses have been severely impacted by the pandemic, Thaler highlighted the importance of Small Business Administration (SBA) loan programs, including the new paycheck protection program – enacted under the CARES Act – as it has helped save millions of jobs. To ensure the SBA programs remain available to businesses as they recover from the crisis, Thaler asked the committee to provide the funding needed for the 7(a) and 504 lending programs.
NAFCU will continue to advocate for increased funding for these important programs that allow credit unions to better serve low-income communities and small business owners in need.