Let there be no doubt that credit unions' federal tax exemption is something our industry is going to have to fight for in order to keep.

Consider what happened in Washington on Nov. 14. Rep. Dennis Ross (R-Fla.), a lawmaker who had previously backed several credit union-friendly bills, included language to a deficit reduction and tax reform bill that called for the credit union federal tax exemption to be phased out over a five-year period from 2013 through 2017. The exemption was one of 29 federal tax expenditures targeted for elimination.

The response was immediate. NAFCU lobbyists met that same day with members of Ross' office on Capitol Hill to tell them what ending the exemption would mean. Following the meeting, plans to phase out the exemption were dropped from the bill, with Ross' office noting that it was included in a drafting error. It took just six hours for the threat to be removed.