Congressional negotiators have dropped a provision from the annual defense authorization bill that would have made it easier for banks to acquire rent-free space on military bases—a benefit already provided to credit unions.
House and Senate conferees announced earlier this week that they had reached agreement on the 3,076-page annual measure that authorizes defense programs.
When the Senate passed its version of the bill, Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) successfully pushed an amendment that would have made it clear that banks are eligible to receive the same benefits on military bases that credit unions already enjoy.
The House version of the bill did not include that plan and when the compromise agreement was released, the Inhofe proposal was dropped.
Under federal law, military officials can offer free rent to a credit union if 95% of the members served by that branch are members of the military.
Military banks had sought the Inhofe plan to gain clarity to confusion over what federal law permits, said Brad Thaler, NAFCU’s vice president for legislative affairs. He said that technically, base commanders can offer banks free rent, but there has been confusion over the law, which has been changed several times.
The deletion of the Inhofe plan in the final defense bill was a welcome development for credit unions, said former NCUA Board Chairman Geoff Bacino, now a partner with Bacino & Associates. He said military officials have always considered banks and credit unions separately
“DOD has always viewed banks and credit unions as different — and for good reason,” he said. “Credit unions should be satisfied that this amendment was not in the conference report.”
Officials from the Association of Military Banks of America did not respond to a request for comment.
