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NAFCU Vice President of Legislative Affairs Brad Thaler Wednesday wrote to the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity and Senate Banking Committee ahead of today’s hearings regarding veterans' economic and financial wellness. Thaler offered support for the Veterans Members Business Loan Act, which would exempt loans made to veterans from the credit union member business lending (MBL) cap and has been introduced in both chambers.

“This bill would improve veterans' access to necessary capital by removing statutory barriers that hinder credit unions' ability to meet the financial needs of our nation's veterans,” wrote Thaler. “As a result of the close relationships credit unions maintain with their members, credit unions are often willing to assist members when other lenders refuse.

“Unfortunately, credit unions face a statutory MBL cap that hinders their ability to fully serve the needs of small businesses,” continued Thaler. “Enacting this legislation will help ensure that credit unions can continue supporting veteran-owned businesses.”

NAFCU previously met with Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, to thank him for his leadership in joining Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., to introduce the legislation in the House. Gonzalez was among many key lawmakers to provide remarks during NAFCU’s 2023 Congressional Caucus earlier this year. The association also previously wrote to Sens. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, and Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, to thank them for introducing the legislation in the Senate.

In the letter, Thaler detailed how credit unions, particularly defense credit unions, take “special pride in serving veterans and supporting veteran entrepreneurs.”

“Credit unions are an important resource for our nation’s veterans in their small business and entrepreneurial endeavors,” wrote Thaler. “Service members develop broad expertise across many disciplines while in the military, learning skills that can provide tremendous value to the economy.”

In addition, in the letter to the Senate Banking Committee, Thaler expressed opposition to the ongoing efforts by banking associations to change the law regarding Department of Defense (DoD) land leases for financial institutions as proposed in the draft Military Banking Program Improvement Act, which has been submitted as part of the Association of Military Banks of America’s testimony. “The fact is that there are significant differences between for-profit banks and not-for-profit credit unions,” wrote Thaler.

“[…] We encourage banks to work with DoD - as credit unions have done for many years - to obtain nominal cost leases, instead of trying to go around DoD to Congress and change laws impacting credit unions,” concluded Thaler.

The House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity hearing to consider legislation will begin at 2 p.m. Eastern; the Senate Banking Committee’s hearing tackling financial protection for servicemembers and their families will begin at 10 a.m. Eastern.

NAFCU will monitor both hearings and continue to support reforms to outdated MBL restrictions to allow credit unions to better serve their members.