An extension of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is likely to be the most important issue that Congress takes up next year, Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.) said today during the ABA Annual Convention in New York City. She also called for Congress to hold an oversight hearing on credit unions and rules governing them.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was passed by Congress in 2017, but key provisions of the law are set to expire next year. Tenney is a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, which is the chief tax-writing committee in the chamber. In a Q&A with ABA’s Kirsten Sutton, the lawmaker spoke in favor of extending the tax policy, noting her district in upstate New York greatly benefited from its provisions. “If the tax cuts expire, we will have a 25% tax increase across my district, where almost 95% of the people in my district got a tax cut,” she said. “That’s going to be devastating for the economy of [upstate] New York.”
Tenney was also asked about credit union acquisitions of banks, with 19 announced this year. The lawmaker said Congress needs to hold an oversight hearing on credit unions given the trend. “People [on the Ways and Means Committee] need to see the disparity in taxes, the disparity in how do you decide who’s going to be a member of your credit union,” she said. “Some of those rules, I think, are lax. I’m not against competition, but I do think you have to have fair competition.”
Finally, Tenney encouraged bankers to meet with members of Congress to advocate for policy change. With Congress likely to remain closely divided even after the election, she suggested looking for opportunities for bipartisanship, such as by meeting with Republican and Democratic lawmakers who are co-sponsoring legislation.
“You would be surprised at how much more we agree than people think, and people do want to work together,” Tenney said.
