CUNA GAC: Make an Impact – Day Two (Part One)
Posted by Shari Storm on March 1st, 2007
The Rule of Propinquity – the world is run by those who show up.
That is an alluring idea. I like that idea (thank you Representative Bishop for sharing it with us).
There were thousands of us who gathered for the first three and a half hour session. We had a brief break for the standard box lunch with bland chicken wrap and then we hunkered down for another two-hour session.
GAC is not for the weak of backside. If you are thinking of attending next year, I recommend you train for it. Schedule yourself for days of back-to-back meetings (preferably with sales people – or some other medium where you do very little, if no, talking).
Alright, joking is probably not appropriate.
The morning opened with Joe Lieberman (ID – CT). He’s a member of the Congressional Credit Union and understands the role they play in our economy. He vowed to fight any attempt at taxation and committed to supporting CURIA.
Rep. Roy Blunt (R – UT) joked that he drove past several banks on his way to work this morning, and although they were not open yet, he was confident they would be opening today – despite what his banker friends were telling him in 1998. He gave his nod to the movement.
Rob Bishop (R – UT) took the stage and told several delightful stories of DC in days past (Mr. Bishop was a history teacher for over 20 years before entering politics). Scott Simpson, the President of the Utah League, and he are good friends and it is clear that Mr. Bishop is in our corner.
Rock Star Time
Then it was Credit Union Rock Star Time. Rep Paul Kanjorski (D- PA) came out to a standing ovation. If you are like me and you don’t know a lot about politics – know this – WE LOVE PAUL KANJORSKI. He is the representative that wrote CURIA (Credit Union Regulation Improvement Act). He and Ed Royce (R – CA) will be introducing it in about a week. CURIA looks like it may have a good chance of passing this time around (third times a charm) and we have Mr. Kanjorski and Mr. Royce to thank for that.
Representative Steny Hoyer (D – MD) received a very warm reception. He is the new House Majority Leader. He seems to appreciate the idea that 80 million consumers want (and often need) an alternative to profit driven financial institutions.
Hey, did you know that there is a law that no one financial institution can control more than 10% of the US money in circulation? Did you also know that Bank of America is trying to amend that law because they are over 9% right now? Almost one out of every ten bucks in America sits at Bank of America. Shiver. Banks have enjoyed six straight years of record-breaking profits with this year being the best in history. Banks actually made more money than the oil industry. Scary.
Back on point…
Representative James Clyburn (D – SC) was next. He is also a supporter, but urged us to continue to look for products and services to offset the problems of payday lending. In fact, he said he felt strongly that it is our DUTY to find alternatives for people currently using payday lenders.
Anna Escobedo Cabral, US Treasurer, told us a bit about what is going on with the US Treasury and gave her nod to the work that credit unions do.
Gigi Hyland, NCUA, talked of being accused of liking credit unions too much (her father even jokingly gave her a CU cheerleading megaphone when she came under fire last year for this). She seems to know credit unions well, which I think is helpful if you are responsible for regulating them. She also seems to be fair-minded.
Lastly, James Carville and Mary Matalin. Wow. Those two are funny. They are extremely well versed and knowledgeable about their politics (she Republican, he Democrat). They have been married for over ten years. The dynamic is hysterical. If you ever get a chance to see these two, I highly recommend it.
And then we broke for wraps.
Just a quick note Roy Blunt is from Missouri! (I guess the 2nd day was the conservative speaker day?) ;-)
CURIA does not have a good chance of passing this time. Rep. Kanjorski is as dyed-in-the-wool as they come, but if a bill’s sponsor admits, as Kanjorski did this week, that it is fourth on his priority list, and the chairman of the relevant committee (Barney Frank, House Financial Services) says that giving the bill a hearing is not a priority, as he has, it’s hard to get other lawmakers excited.
I’d be ecstatic to be wrong about this, but CURIA has become a tired bill that few people outside the movement (or on the receiving end of credit union PAC contributions) are getting excited about.
The trade associations will point to last year’s abundance of co-sponsors, and they’re right. CURIA drew some 120+ co-sponsors by the end of the 109th Congress. But co-sponsors do not passage make. Adding them in the waning days of a Congressional session is like piling on to the runner after a play is over—it’s easy to do, but the ball already stopped moving.
I will happily eat crow if the bill sweeps through the House this spring, but I am skeptical. Waiting for CURIA is like waiting for Godot.
Travis – you are absolutely right. Sorry for my typo.
B. Rogers – like I have said all along, I don’t know a lot about politics. After sitting through over 10 hours of politician after politican pledging their support, I felt optimistic.
However, the next day I sat in the House gallery as they voted on several bills.
Watching each one fail, one after another, gave me a slightly different perspective.
Here’s hoping!
Shari – My comments weren’t meant to be personal. If they came off as such, I apologize. It’s just hard to watch the CURIA fanfare month in and month out while the bill itself molders.
Oh dear! You didn’t come across personal at all! I’m glad you commented. You gave my posts the political knowledge they needed. I was just saying that, when I wrote that post, I was in the afterglow of the credit union-y goodness that all of the speakers helped create during the general sessions. But then, like you, I became doubtful about CURIA, once I sat in the gallery and watched how things really worked.
I didn’t take offense to what you said. It’s all good.