This legislative proposal applies only to a new breed of credit union with little resemblance to the mom-and-pop variety that first inspired the industry’s tax exemption. These “morphed” credit unions are not satisfied with making small business loans. If they were, they would have no need to raise their member business lending cap, since credit unions today can make as many loans under $50,000 as they want. These aggressive institutions want to go after the corporate loans that tax-paying community banks make every day.

If Congress does the bidding of this small minority of aggressive credit unions, it could be the beginning of the end for community banks. One doesn’t have to be an economist to know that an industry subsidized by the federal government will easily out-price one that pays roughly one-third of its revenue in taxes, a typical bank’s tax burden. Or to know that this is a classic example of catering to a special interest group.

Another thing is also clear: If Congress sanctions the exodus of commercial loans from an industry that pays taxes to one that does not, the U.S. Treasury will go even deeper in the hole. A similar bill in the last Congress would have cost taxpayers $354 million in lost revenues over the next 10 years. This one will cost even more — just as lawmakers are trying to address our country’s historic budget deficits.