April 28, 2008

Dear Representative Capito:
I am a member of West Virginia Central Credit Union (WVCCU) and am a volunteer elected member of its Board of Directors. On behalf of the WVCCU, I urge you to support H.R. 5519, the Credit Union Regulatory Relief Act (CURRA), scheduled for consideration on Tuesday, April 29th. It is extremely important to all credit unions that this bill pass.
H.R. 5519 is a bipartisan bill sponsored by Representatives Kanjorski and Royce. This bill would provide modest regulatory relief allowing credit unions to continue to provide services to their members, especially people of modest means.
H.R. 5519 contains several provisions that passed the House of Representatives in 2006, but not signed into law, including:
 Exemption of credit unions from pre-merger notification requirements under the Clayton Act.
 Exemption of business loans made to religious organizations from the business-lending cap.
 Giving NCUA the ability to establish longer maturities for certain loans, modernizing credit union governance and giving the NCUA Board flexibility to respond to market conditions.
 Addressing an issue that came about from the passage of the Credit Union Membership Access Act, in response to which many Federal Credit Unions opened offices in underserved areas providing much needed financial services.(This is currently being thwarted by bankers via a lawsuit.).
 Exemption of business loans in underserved areas from business-lending cap.
 Allowing the offering of payday-lending alternatives to fields of membership.
H.R. 5519 is a good step toward providing credit unions the framework needed to serve members in the 21st Century. Members and potential members need credit union presence in the financial marketplace. As non-profit entities designed to meet the needs of people of modest means, credit unions are uniquely positioned to meet many consumers’ needs.
On behalf of the members of West Virginia Central Credit Union, thank you in advance for your support of H.R. 5519.
Sincerely,

Daniel C. Doak, Ed.D.
Director, WVCCU