NCUA Vice Chair
JoAnn Johnson Says President’s Jobs and Economic
Growth Plan is “Right
Approach at the Right Time”
Credit unions are positioned to grow the economy through
Member Business Lending and encouraging member savings
Overland Park, Kansas, April 26, 2003 – America’s credit unions
have an important role to play in growing the nation’s economy,
according to National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Vice
Chair JoAnn Johnson, who addressed the Kansas Credit Union Association’s
governmental affairs luncheon today.
The agency vice chair, who has been a leading NCUA official
empowering credit unions to provide member business lending,
said the President’s jobs and economic growth plan “removes unnecessary
barriers and will strengthen the economy by allowing Americans
to keep more of their own money to spend, save, and invest – creating
jobs. This growth plan also presents an excellent opportunity
for credit unions to continue encouraging members of the value
of saving and financial counseling, as members can also decrease
their personal debt while improving their overall financial outlook.”
“As President Bush has said often, small businesses – America’s
engines of job creation – will greatly benefit by his plan to
grow the economy and create jobs. His jobs and growth plan – including
incentives to invest, reduction in their tax burden – will help
small businesses to grow and create more jobs,” Johnson affirmed. “With
the President estimating a family of four with an income of $40,000
would see their federal income tax fall from $1,178 to $45, a
reduction such as this can go a long way toward empowering a
family to save or invest.”
“By becoming a financial partner for your credit union members,
those who are entrepreneurs, whether launching a new small business
or growing a business by adding employees to their payroll, credit
unions can truly help create jobs and spur economic growth in
America today,” said Johnson. “The Bush Administration is aware
of the growing role of credit unions as not-for-profit financial
institutions in helping the small business owner who is just
starting out or expanding a product or service line and increases
the demand for goods and services.”
Johnson commended all the credit unions that are supporting
America’s small businesses through member business lending and
encouraged credit unions to “consider the opportunities for developing
a member business lending program while in the bounds of safety
and soundness.”
President George W. Bush nominated JoAnn Johnson to a seat
on the NCUA Board and the U.S. Senate confirmed
her nomination March 22, 2002. Vice Chair Johnson
was elected to the Iowa Senate in 1994 where
she chaired the Senate Ways and Means Committee
and the Senate Commerce Committee. Vice Chair Johnson’s term
on the NCUA Board will expire in August 2007.
The National Credit Union Administration, governed by a three-member
board appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate,
is the independent federal agency that regulates, charters
and supervises federal credit unions. NCUA, with the backing
of the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, operates
and manages the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund,
insuring the deposits of more than 80 million account holders
in all federal credit unions and the overwhelming majority
of state-chartered credit unions.
-NCUA-
