Community banking advocates requested Senate leaders weave a series of amendments into the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) aimed at strengthening community development financial institutions (CDFI) across the country.
The Independent Community Bankers of America urged Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) to incorporate four legislative measures into the NDAA as amendments.
Specifically, the organization pushed for the inclusion of the CDFI Fund Transparency Act, the CDFI Bond Guarantee Improvement Act of 2025, the Scaling Community Lenders Act, and a provision of the Rural Housing Service Reform Act of 2025 supporting Native CDFIs.
The measures proposed various actions intended to expand transparency, access and resources for CDFIs, while strengthening oversight, ensuring accountability and promoting better policy decisions.
For example, the CDFI Bond Guarantee Improvement Act seeks to lower loan minimums and remove guarantee caps for the CDFI bond program to offer smaller and rural CDFIs more stable funding for community projects.
The Scaling Community Lenders Act would revive a dormant liquidity enhancement program by directing Emergency Capital Investment Program dividends to support private-sector facilities, boosting CDFI lending capacity.
Wicker introduced the NDAA on July 15 and it received a motion for cloture on Aug. 2, just before Congress entered its summer recess.