Maurice Hinchey: “I, too, want to strongly support H.R. 1151, the Credit Union Membership Act of which I am an original prime sponsor. The…”

“I, too, want to strongly support H.R. 1151, the Credit Union Membership Act of which I am an original prime sponsor. The credit union movement has distinguished itself over the years by providing its members with good quality, low cost financial services. As nonprofit cooperatives managed by their members, credit unions excel at providing the services families and small businesses need most. Study after study shows that from home mortgages to student loans to start-up financing for small businesses, credit unions beat the competition in terms of service and customer satisfaction. Credit unions have also taken the lead in communities that are all but ignored by the banking industry. In many distressed urban and rural areas a community development credit union is often the only conventional financial institution to be found. In my district a group of public housing tenants formed a credit union when they were unable to interest a bank in their financial goals. We need to encourage these types of institutions to bring more low-income individuals into the financial mainstream. The credit union movement deserves much of the praise for this legislation.”