Credit Union Priorities in Lobbying Federal Lawmakers

Financial Wellbeing

For 115 million people from communities across the country, credit unions continue to be the only financial services partner that puts their financial wellbeing ahead of the bottom line.

By advancing our not-for-profit, collaborative mission, you are investing in the financial health and security of your community. We remain committed to ensuring that our members have access to safe, affordable services that work for their individual needs and help them achieve their financial goals.

A strong partnership between credit unions and policymakers can advance communities, grow the middle class, and keep our economy strong.

Securing data for safer communities

Every year, more people and organizations face the nightmare of cyber-attack, identity theft, and online fraud. While credit unions are there to help members pick up the pieces when their personal identity is stolen, the lack of any nationwide policy that encases robust data privacy and security standards leaves millions of American consumers and businesses open to attack by rogue state actors and fraudsters.

Data must be held securely and privately, no matter who holds it. Once considered the gold standard in security and privacy, narrowly focused laws like the Gramm Leach Bliley Act (GLBA) and the Health Insurance Privacy and Accountability Act (HIPAA) are no longer enough to keep Americans’ data private and secure. It’s time Congress passed legislation that holds all Americans’ data – and those who hold the data – to modern high standards.

A national data security and privacy law must preempt state laws. A strong national standard that preempts the California Consumer Privacy Act and other state laws would close glaring loopholes that hackers exploit to steal consumers’ data.

Modernize the Federal Credit Union Act

By reducing outdated restrictions on lending maturity limits and field of membership, Congress can help credit unions further deliver our people-over-profit services to more student borrowers and folks looking to start a local business.   

1. Provide relief to credit unions for loans made to groups such as farmers, veterans, minorities and women
2. Permit the establishment of their own fiscal year
3. Eliminate a requirement to file certain information regarding loan officers
4. Enhance flexibility of federal credit unions to schedule board meetings
5. Remove outdated responsibilities of federal credit union boards of directors
6. Allow the expulsion of disruptive members for just cause by the board or management
7. Permit electronic balloting for conversions from a state-to-federal charter and from federal-to-state.

Protect the Credit Union Tax-Exemption

For over 85 years, credit unions have been one of the strongest investments Congress has made in America’s communities. As not-for-profit cooperatives, credit unions of all sizes deliver on our mission by returning earnings to our members and our communities, not to outsider investors.

In exchange for the $1.9 billion in tax exemption Congress granted last year, credit unions delivered $18.9 billion in economic benefit to members and non-members alike.