Why anyone would lend more to the U.S. is beyond me, but perhaps the greater mystery is why the government continues to want to dig deeper into debt. Just one more reason we need more credit union professionals and volunteers in government in addition to supporting issues favorable to credit unions.

In line with congressional expectations and credit unions’ desires, CUNA seems to have backed off business lending for now. The trade group’s priorities list has been reprioritized, placing defending the credit union tax exemption at the top. Given that Congress will be looking at tax reform in general and repealing the tax exemption has already been introduced–albeit “accidentally”–in legislation, this is a wise choice. Additionally, some large, high-profile credit unions made a lot of noise about expending too much political capital on an issue that relatively few credit unions would take advantage of. Their dues dollars walked right out the door, just before the hopes of passing legislation to expand member business lending.

In an email addressed to the league presidents, CUNA board and governmental affairs committee that states that CUNA will pursue the introduction of legislation to expand business lending, President/CEO Bill Cheney acknowledged, “Going forward, we have to take some lessons from the failure to raise the MBL cap, understand the realities of the credit union vs. small bank influence in Congress, address those realities and build a system that will allow the passage of important pro-credit union legislation in the future."

Economic realities were happening in the business lending market all around, taking down a number of larger credit unions, like Texans and Telesis. The bankers were able to make hay out of it and even more of a stink than credit unions. Miffed by the bankers’ opposition to expanded business lending, CUNA was able to help stop the community bankers from getting the Transaction Account Guarantee extension in an effort to demonstrate its reciprocal might.

We saw NAFCU turn the corner toward the tax exemption last fall with the study it commissioned and release during its Congressional Caucus that found that eliminating the credit union tax exemption would cost the federal government $15 billion in lost tax revenue, $148 billion in GDP and 1.5 million lost jobs over the next decade. A more unified front would have helped the chances for business lending, but it still appeared a long shot due to the bankers’ opposition and lack of consensus among credit unions.

Still CUNA saw what it thought was a solid opportunity and took it. The trade group can’t be faulted for that. What is at issue is whether it, or NAFCU for that matter, was following a false mandate in pursuing business lending. Member business lending elicits a mixed bag of emotions and responses from credit unions, but it is still on the list of advocacy priorities, though below a handful of others.

Reducing regulatory burden should shoot to the top, but it’s not very sexy and is almost certainly an uphill battle with the Democrat-controlled Senate and White House, both of which favor the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a leading cause of credit union hand-wringing over what’s to come.

Housing finance reform is another solid priority as well as supplemental capital, which seemed to take a significant back seat to business lending in 2012. Last year saw the expansion of The Coalition for Credit Union Access, launched specifically to supplement the supplemental capital effort because the trades were preoccupied with MBLs.

The New Year is a time of goal setting. Everywhere people are promising to quit smoking or lose weight or take up a new hobby. All of these resolutions are aligned with most human beings’ innate will to live–depending upon the hobby.

What is necessary in 2013 to feed your credit union’s stamina? I suggest political activity, no matter which side of the issues you’re on. Just make sure the stances align with your credit union’s future positioning so that it is something you’re truly willing to get behind.