Washington,
Apr 26, 2005 -
I thank the gentleman for yielding. I would also like to thank Chairman Oxley for taking up this bill so quickly in Committee and my colleague from the other side of the aisle, Congressman Sherman, for his work and support on behalf of this important legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to encourage my colleagues to support H.R. 749, the Expanded Access to Financial Services Act. This bipartisan legislation will amend the Federal Credit Union Act to permit credit unions to offer money order, check-cashing and wire transfer services to anyone who is eligible to be a credit union member, whether or not they have credit union membership. The bill is identical to Section 307 of H.R. 1375, the Financial Services Regulatory Relief Act, which passed the House by a vote of 392-25 on March 18, 2004.
H.R. 749 reaches out to individuals who, for whatever reason, do not have established bank accounts. These “unbanked” Americans – estimated to be up to 10 million households – are frequently charged high fees for a variety of financial services. By bringing competition to the marketplace, we can provide our constituents access to lower-fee alternatives.
Many of those who would utilize these services are hard-working immigrants trying to wire money home to help provide for their families. According to the Pew Hispanic Center and Multilateral Investment Fund, $10 billion is sent back to Latin America each year, a figure that could more than double in the next 5 years.
It is my hope that the underserved persons who are reached through this bill will be able to use these services to establish a credit history that can then allow them to take advantage of other financial services. An initial positive experience with a depository institution may encourage the “unbanked” to explore other financial products.
Further, bringing immigrant workers into financial institutions is important for national security. Credit unions are required to follow the record-keeping and reporting requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act. They must also determine that customers are in the field of membership, a process that would involve personal documentation review. Having international money transfers go through regulated financial institutions makes it easier for law enforcement officials to learn of and follow suspicious activity.
The Expanded Access to Financial Services Act has the support of the National Credit Union Administration, Credit Union National Association and National Association of Federal Credit Unions.
H.R. 749 is a good, bipartisan bill. It reaches out to communities that have historically been left out of the financial services arena and encourages hard-working Americans to develop relationships with financial institutions. I hope that Members will choose today to give their constituents access to affordable financial services.
