PALM DESERT, Calif.–Many people in Congress don’t know what they are doing, according to CUNA CEO Jim Nussle, an ex-congressman who doesn’t mean that in the typical, derogatory way.
Instead, Nussle was referring to the turnover that has occurred in Congress and what it means for credit unions.
“The good news when people say ‘Throw the bums out,’ when we all get mad as voters, is we get fresh blood, but you lose on the experience side,” Nussle told PSCU’s Member Forum here. “Since Dodd Frank, 46% of the Congress is all that is left. Fifty-four percent of the entire Congress is new. There is a new group of people who never thought about these issues now in Congress. So, we have a pretty impactful job to do in educating on financial services, or just to tell them what a credit union was.”
Nussle noted that there are just 17 senators remaining from 1998, the time of the last great credit union fight in Congress, the battle for HR 1151 which is currently being profiled in a series of stories in CUToday.info.
“We have a whole group of people who may have to take a position on credit union issues who have never had to do so,” Nussle told the meeting.
In other remarks in which he updated the audience on CUNA’s effort in Washington, Nussle said:
- “I will put up our 100-year history of serving consumers against the CFPB’s 11,000 pages of rules anytime.”
- Tax reform, on which there has been no action in Congress since 1986, may be a popular issue, but he noted that it means that technically, the entire tax code is opened up, including the CU tax exemption. “Someone might say, ‘You know, I think we ought to look at credit unions.’ That’s why it’s important we be at the table.”
- The ongoing consumer research being conducted by credit unions found some surprises, including that the word “member” can seem like a barrier to non-members. Another CU favorite that often doesn’t translate well is “not for profit.” “I know we love it, but it became a barrier and if we don’t explain it we could be in trouble.”