MBL Momentum Building: Congressman Butterfield Co-Sponsors HR 3380 ... Cong. Brad Miller Signs Letter to House Leadership (3/4/2010)

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Cong. G.K. Butterfield became the third House member to co-sponsor HR 3380.

On Tuesday, Congressman G.K. Butterfield (D - 1st District) became the third NC co-sponsor of HR 3380, the Promoting Lending to America's Small Businesses Act. In addition, Congressman Brad Miller (D - 13th District) signed on to a colleague letter supporting MBL inclusion in a jobs bill, as the momentum for raising the CU business lending cap continued to build.

Butterfield's co-sponsorship of the bill came just days after nearly 80 credit union advocates from NC met with their elected leaders in Washington, DC during the CUNA Governmental Affairs Conference. "Cong. Butterfield has been a strong supporter of credit unions since the day he arrived in Washington," said Dan Schline, the NCCUL's SVP of association services, "and we appreciate his commitment to raising the credit union business lending cap." Butterfield joins two other Congressmen - Walter Jones & Larry Kissell - as co-sponsors of the bill, which would raise the credit union business lending cap to 25% of assets.

While the efforts to raise the cap have been gaining momentum recently in the NC Congressional delegation, credit unions have worked diligently over the past several years to make the case for raising the 12.25% cap. "We've been bumping up against this cap for a few years now, so passing this bill would really help us serve more small businesses," said Chuck Purvis of Coastal Federal Credit Union. Purvis attended the meetings in Washington last week with several other representatives from Coastal.

Purvis added that Coastal's business loan portfolio has held up very well during the current credit crisis and recession. "We've always had very strict underwriting standards, so we stand willing to lend to more small businesses," Purvis said. "We just need the authority to serve our members in this area of our business."

Cong. Brad Miller's signature last week on an MBL letter to House Speaker Pelosi and Republican Leader Boehner is a key development, since Miller sits on the House Financial Services Committee.

In addition to the three NC co-sponsors of HR 3380, Congressman Brad Miller (D - 13th District) signed his name to a letter addressed to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Republican Leader John Boehner. The letter urges adding credit union MBL language to a jobs bill this year. Miller joined Butterfield, Jones and Kissell in co-signing the letter.

Miller, along with Jones, is a member of the House Financial Services Committee. "We appreciate Cong. Miller's support of raising the cap, and his commitment to helping create jobs here in NC," Schline said. He added that it was important for credit unions to continue making the case for raising the business lending cap to their elected leaders. "Raising the cap helps small businesses access capital so they can grow and create jobs. It also comes at no expense to taxpayers."