WASHINGTON-While President George W. Bush came across America's television screen on the night of the attack proclaiming that Washington would be business as usual the following day, it wasn't. While the Federal Reserve remained open following the attack on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center offering liquidity through the discount window as necessary, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency urged those national banks with unaffected branches to stay open to bolster consumer confidence. In this vein, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. issued a statement reassuring consumers that their federally insured funds were safe. Economists are concerned that this event could push the U.S. over the edge into a recession (See related story page 11). On the Hill, previous hot button issues like bankruptcy reform and deposit insurance reform have been placed on the back burner while lawmakers discuss how to handle the terrorist attack. But the credit union community is considering the attacks from its own specific perspective. The ribbon cutting ceremony for CUNA's Credit Union House scheduled for September 11 was postponed until further notice. Additionally, Hike the Hill trips for last week were cancelled by the leagues. Leagues planning these meetings with their lawmakers included South Carolina, West Virginia, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. Many planning these trips were not even able to leave their hometowns after all U.S. flights were grounded due to the terrorist acts, which involved flying commercial planes into the national landmarks. No word was available about the ones scheduled for this week, including the Ohio, Georgia, and Texas Credit Union Leagues. NAFCU is currently discussing how the terrorist attacks may affect its Congressional Caucus, scheduled for Sept. 23 through 26. NAFCU is continuing to make plans for the annual meeting while closely monitoring the highly sensitive situation. The trade group was encouraged by Bush's remarks that Washington is back to business.