As Presidential Race Grips Nation, CU Lobbyists Pleased With Congressional Results

Even as many Americans continued to be focused on the nerve-wracking presidential race Wednesday, credit union lobbyists hailed the “return on investments” made by their Political Action Committees.

“We feel like our investments made an impact,” Trey Hawkins, CUNA’s deputy chief advocacy officer for political action, told reporters on a conference call.

He said that CUNA’s PAC has spent some $7 million supporting more than 400 House and Senate candidates, with some 330 candidates winning.

That is not to say that CUNA is ignoring the presidential race. “We really believe we can work with either administration,” CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle told reporters.

“Credit unions have bipartisan support,” Carrie Hunt, NAFCU’s EVP for government affairs and general counsel, said in an interview.

Credit union officials were watching several key congressional races Tuesday night. Two members of the Banking Committee were defeated for reelection. In Arizona, Republican Sen. Martha McSally was defeated by retired astronaut Mark Kelly, a Democrat. And in Alabama, Democratic Sen. Doug Jones was handily defeated by former college football coach Tommy Tuberville, a Republican.

In North Carolina, Banking Committee member Republican Thom Tillis was locked in a tight race with Democrat Cal Cunningham.

In the House, Democrat Xochitl Torres Small was defeated in her reelection bid in New Mexico. CUNA had spent funds on digital advertising and direct mail on her behalf.

House Financial Services Committee member Democratic Rep. Ben McAdams (D-Utah) was locked in a tight race with Republican Burgess Owens, a retired professional football player. A winner in that race had not been declared by mid-day Wednesday.

While Senate Banking Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Id.) was not up for reelection this year, there still likely will be a change at the helm of the committee. Crapo has indicated that he would like to chair the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee, considered one of the best assignments on Capitol Hill.

If that were to occur, Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) would take over the chairmanship of the Banking Committee. The credit union lobbyists said they are confident that they can work well with Toomey, who has indicated that he will not run for reelection in 2022.

“If that hypothetical works out, we’re going to be in a really strong position,” Ryan Donovan, CUNA’s chief advocacy officer, said.

Hunt agreed. “We have a strong relationship with Toomey,” she said. “We have a strong relationship with Crapo.”

Donovan was not optimistic that the election will have much of an impact on how Congress operates.

“If the past is prologue, there’s going to be substantial gridlock,” he said.

CUNA officials stressed the need for Congress to continue to help credit unions and their members weather the economic impact of the pandemic. However, Donovan added that at some point, members of Congress will decide that they need to raise revenue to offset some of the costs of the pandemic.

He said that could lead to an examination of so-called tax expenditures, including a new look at the credit union tax exemption.

Hunt agreed that an examination of tax expenditures could be a “real possibility.” She added, “For NAFCU, protecting the credit union tax exemption is our top priority.”

Meanwhile by mid-day Wednesday, the winner of the presidential race still was not clear, leading Donovan to say, “I feel like we’re in the 7th inning of a world series [game] and we’re talking about what the next season is going to look like.”