CUNA Holds Hundreds of Hill Meetings During Recess

While many perceive pre-election recesses as a "down time" for the U.S. Congress, the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) has held daily meetings with Capitol Hill staffers since the current recess began earlier this month, making use of all opportunities to conduct critical credit union outreach.

CUNA's total number of meetings currently hovers near 200, and more meetings are planned for the week-and-a-half before the election is held on Nov. 6.

CUNA Executive Vice President John Magill said even with lawmakers are on the campaign trail, up to 95% of regular Washington-based congressional staffers have remained in their Capitol Hill offices. He noted that many are high-level committee staff, with expertise in their respective fields.

"Some of the best policy discussions can come at times like this, when there are fewer distractions from the usual mix of committee and subcommittee meetings, votes and the like," Magill said. "While there are fewer coats and ties worn, the staff members are still here… and it's a great chance for us to reach out and make our points," he told News Now.

CUNA staff have advocated for credit unions in discussions with staff representing high-ranking members of the U.S. House and Senate, including House and Senate leadership, committee leadership, and ranking committee and subcommittee members. Key credit union issues, such as increasing the statutory member business lending (MBL) cap, access to supplemental capital, ATM fee disclosure fixes, among others, are addressed in these meetings.

The staffers are working to prepare for a post-election session, where tax and spending issues are sure to be discussed, and extenders and other bills could be offered.

Magill also stressed that credit unions and the state credit union leagues must also do their part in their home districts to reach their respective legislators over the next week-and-a-half.

The New Jersey Credit Union League (NJCUL) will be one credit union group taking such actions when it meets with Rep. Scott Garrett (R-N.J.) next week. The meeting will focus on potential reforms to the secondary mortgage market, and NJCUL President/CEO Paul Gentile said the league will meet with Garrett "to ensure that credit unions and other smaller lenders continue to have access to a viable secondary mortgage market and are not put at a competitive disadvantage with large banks."

The league frequently meets with Garrett and other legislators to discuss credit union issues.