By Frank J. Diekmann
Congress has headed home with many in the Senate and all of the House campaigning for re-election.
An annual tradition, 100% of Americans will continue to rate Congress lower than Isis, and to prove it, an almost identical number will now proceed to re-elect nearly all of them.
Knowing you need your fix of congressional and other government-related news, here is some of the funny, the fascinating, the fogies and the future that you might have missed were you not a part of NAFCU’s recent Congressional Caucus in D.C.
Please Hold Your Applause. OK.
One CFPB executive told the audience she will soon be retiring. Then, apparently under the misunderstanding this would be met with disappointment from credit unions, she added “My team is going to carry on without missing a beat.” Not sure if she noticed the audience missed a beat when it came to applauding that news.
All I Can Say is 'WTF'
Political pundit and CNN commentator S.E. Cupp told credit unions, “I often do this for members of Congress, so it’s nice to meet with someone who actually knows what they are doing with their members’ money.” Cupp also prefaced her political analysis by saying she had initially titled her remarks, “State of the Election,” but at the last moment decided to change it to “WTF?”
So That's What 'Synergy' Means
Sen. Joe Donnelly of Indiana, noted he had been a member of Notre Dame FCU for 43 years, and had plenty of praise for credit unions (as did every other member of Congress speaking to the meeting). Speaking of banks, he observed, “I had to look it up and see what ‘synergy’ meant as banks left town after town after town.”
Hey, Ohh, I'll Be Here All Week
Former GOP presidential candidate and current Texas senator Ted Cruz was never known on the campaign trail for his sense of humor. But this was his stab at getting a laugh during Congressional Caucus: “How can you spot an extroverted accountant? He looks at your shoes when he’s talking to you.”
A Special Surprise
From the I’m Stunned Dept., numerous members of Congress could not resist poking at the fake customer account scam at Wells Fargo during their remarks (a House hearing featuring the bank’s CEO took place during the meeting). NCUA Chairman Rick Metsger also had some fun with it. Said Metsger, “If you look under your table you have a special gift from Wells Fargo. They’ve opened a free account in your name.”
An Auditor's Stamp of Approval
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), a long-time friend to credit unions, offered this sardonic review of the capital: “You have come to Washington at a time when historians will describe it as the Golden Age of American Government. How proud I am to serve in the world’s most dysfunctional parliament.” Later Sherman added, “On behalf of America’s trees I want to say thank you to the CFPB for saying you don’t have to send privacy notices every year.” And, like others, he just had to add that when it comes to what elimination of the credit union tax exemption means to the Treasury, he said, “The banks have put forward a $2 billion revenue estimate, and you can believe it because it’s been certified by the Wells Fargo audit department.”
Putting the CU In Curmudgeon
Apparently, credit unions won’t be hiring Michigan Rep. Sandy Levin as a spokesperson for the benefits of mobile banking anytime soon. Levin, 85, is a 55-year-credit union member who had kind words that “People didn’t just join because they felt alienated by banks, but because of the purpose you serve.” But membership apparently has its aggravations for Levin, who said when he's in his home state he still goes to a grocery store where he knows the owner when he needs to cash a check. “The problem is my bank is Congressional FCU and when I go home I don’t have a bank, as it has no offices there.” This came as such a surprise, as I know the first word that comes to mind when I think of Congress is “adaptive.”
And The Next President Will Be...
If the meeting were the Presidential Caucus instead of Congressional and it determined who would e running for top office in 2020, the winner would be Sen. Ben Sasse. Sasse, the co-sponsor of a CU-backed letter to the CFPB that obtained signatures from 69 other senators, was the only speaker to receive a standing ovation from the Caucus audience. He’s young, telegenic, conservative and a very articulate speaker (he has a doctorate in history from Yale, taught at the University of Texas and was president of a college in Nebraska, all before turning 44). Sasse, who preaches small government, expressed concerns that 41% of Americans under age 35 tell polls they think the First Amendment is dangerous, because freedom of speech might be used to "hurt someone else’s feelings.” Speaking again to limited government, Sasse said, “The whole point of America is that Washington is supposed to be a servant community for the communities we come from.” And yet, he observed, five of the seven richest counties in the country surround Washington, D.C., and are where “the lobbyists live.”
As CUToday.info reported here, Sasse also argued that the CFPB is unconstitutional and is an illegal fourth branch of government.
Frank J. Diekmann is Cooperator in Chief at CUToday.info and can be reached at Frank@CUToday.info or @FrankCUToday.