WASHINGTON–With the question of who will ultimately control Congress still up in the air, there is already some sense of direction on what’s ahead, including “oversight, oversight, oversight” of federal agencies and the administration, according to one person.
“The mid-term elections turned out to be a lot closer than many pundits predicted. Many races are still too early or too close to call as of this morning and final vote counts could take days, or even weeks,” said NAFCU Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Greg Mesack. “It appears that Republicans are poised to win a narrow majority in the House, and the Senate remains up in the air, with several key races not yet called and a runoff election likely in closely contested Georgia set for Dec. 6.
“Rather than a red wave election, we saw a more status quo election, with the vast majority of incumbents winning or at least keeping it close and making races hard to call,” Mesack continued. “NAFCU has built relationships with key members of both parties, and we stand ready to work with both parties in Congress to find solutions to the challenges facing our industry no matter what the outcome.”
98% Success Rate
Following Tuesday’s elections, CUNA and its PAC reported 98% of the candidates they supported this election cycle have won their races, not counting the races that are still to be called.
Trey Hawkins, deputy chief advocacy officer for political affairs, said on Wednesday morning that 341 candidates who had received support from the Credit Union Legislative Action Council (CULAC) had won their races, with seven CU-supported candidates having lost.
Hawkins said CULAC is still awaiting the results in 50 races.
Out the 61 open seat races, meanwhile, 50 results had been announced by the morning after the election, with CU-backed candidates having won 46 of those.
“Open seats are always a terrific opportunity for us to start fresh with a new member of Congress who arrives in January (to educate on the) credit union difference,” Hawkins said.
The Nine ‘Priority’ Races
As CUToday.info reported earlier this week, CULAC and its respective state leagues had identified nine races as “priorities” and had poured $3 million into specific support for candidates.
Those candidates include:
- Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NC), still to be called
- Katie Britt, Republican Senate candidate in Alabama, won race
- Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-GA), won race
- Rep. Chris Pappas (D-GA), won race
- Rep. Amy McLane Kuster (D-NH), won race
- Rep. Elaine Luria (D-VA), lost race
- Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA), won race
- Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), won race
- Candidate David Valadao, Republican for California’s 22nd district, currently has lead
“All of these were considered toss-up races going into the election,” said Hawkins. “Some were called very, very late.”
Hawkins credited cable media buys and other direct expenditures made by CULAC with helping to sway the races.
“We are very pleased,” said Hawkins. “We will be well positioned regardless of who controls the House and the Senate.”
The Balance of Power
As of Wednesday morning, Jason Stverak, deputy chief advocacy officer for federal affairs with CUNA, said the picture was “clear as mud” when it comes to control of Congress, but “it does look like the Republicans will likely gain a slim majority in the House. It raises the question is that majority going to be a governing majority.”
He said some House members may see themselves similarly empowered by what’s sometimes referred to as the “Manchin caucus” in the Senate, where Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) wields considerable power due to the 50-50 Republican/Democrat split in the upper house.
‘Oversight, Oversight, Oversight’
“Obviously, when we see there are slight majorities, it is tough to govern and move big pieces of legislation and, sometimes, even small pirces of legislation through the chamber,” said Stverak. “I think credit unions are uniquely positioned to take advantage of what will likely be a Republican House and what will likely be a 51-49 Democratic Senate. We are going to be looking at continued ability to be welcomed on both sides of the aisle to advocate on behalf of our agenda to help provide for the financial well-being for all of our members across the country.
“What is going to be incredibly interesting, as I heard someone say last night, while it’s not going to be a large Republican majority in the House, most likely the three words that are going to be heard are oversight, oversight, oversight,” said Stverak. “There is going to be aggressive use of the committees to investigate the executive branch and the agencies, including around ESG and the more activist agenda being considered by the CFPB.”
The ’Opportunities’
Nevertheless, Stverak said there are opportunities to work with both sides of the aisle who want to pass “common sense legislation,” including around member business lending, member expulsion rules and the board modernization bill.
“With a pretty evenly divided House and Senate we may see a switch-around of the gavels and the (chairmanships), but we will still have divided government,” said Stverak. “It does not mean there won’t be opportunities for credit unions.”
NAFCU’s Mesack agreed.
“It appears divided government will return to Washington with Republicans controlling at least one chamber of Congress and the Democrats having the administration,” he said. “NAFCU believes that a divided government is the best case for the credit union industry. Divided government limits either party’s ability to move anything extreme or harmful to credit unions. In addition, a divided government also makes it hard to pass many bills without bipartisan compromise.
“As noted above, NAFCU has strong relationships with leaders in both parties and stands ready to work with both sides to advance the credit union agenda. Many key credit union bills enjoy bipartisan support in this Congress and will continue to have bipartisan support in the next Congress,” Mesack said.
Separately, CUNA said it has already sent letters to Congress outlining its priorities for the remainder of the year, including:
* Opposition to the Credit Card Competition Act
* Opposition to the Improving Cybsersecurity of Credit Unions Act
* Support for the Credit Union Board Governance Modernization Act
* Support for extension of enhancements for the CLF