ARLINGTON, Va.–A look ahead to the upcoming national elections and what it means for the country and credit unions was shared during a discussion as part of NAFCU’s Virtual Congressional Caucus.
Participating in the discussion were NAFCU EVP/General Counsel Carrie Hunt and NAFCU Director of Political Affairs Chad Adams. Here’s a look at what was discussed:
Hunt: We are about seven weeks away from the presidential and congressional elections. Much of the dialogue has been around the pandemic and a lot of the social unrest. How does that impact what’s happening in Washington?
Adams: The cynic in me says it has little impact on what’s happening in Washington. While some are introducing bills to address those issues, most are blaming the other party and looking to their own reelection. The optimist in me sees them wanting to put the issues on the table and solve the problems. Unfortunately, they want to deny the other side from gaining any victory is stronger than the want to make any progress.
What people see on the news and online is only 10% of what is really taking place. The other 90% is bipartisan work and what you don’t see on the news. They continue to work on legislation, and while it may not make progress in this Congress, wherever it leaves off in this Congress is usually the starting point in the next. That’s why we weigh in on any draft legislation.
As for the election, it’s been ugly and it’s going to get uglier. The party that makes people believe they will bring us together, that they can improve health care, that they can lead us out of the pandemic, I think, will be the party that wins on election day.
Hunt: If we do see a sea change with Democrats sweeping the executive branch and both sides of Congress, what does it mean to NAFCU’s advocacy?
Adams: The outcome of any election doesn’t change NAFCU’s grassroots and advocacy strategy. The main difference when any body (of government) changes is the priorities they set. They see a problem and an opportunity to improve on something, that’s where we get involved. When any action on legislation is imminent, that’s when we activate our grassroots army. I can’t stress enough how important it is to weigh in.
Hunt: You are also the director of our PAC. How does NAFCUPAC choose the candidates to support, and how important it is for NAFCUPAC to support CU issues?
Adams: We have supported about 100 candidates so far, and distributed nearly $300,000 so far. We are bipartisan, we don’t pick red or blue. We create a budget at the beginning of each year, take into consideration the committees they sit on, their record, their seniority. But we also support those with a good track record of supporting credit unions. If there is a member with a clear understanding of our issues and a willingness to at least listen, those are the members we tend to support.