Weekly Watch: January 24, 2025

Your weekly advocacy update: Stay informed, take action, and champion the voice of America’s defense credit unions!

Top Initiatives This Week

​This week, we celebrated the introduction of two key pieces of legislation:

• Senators Tim Sheehy’s (R-MT) and Chris Van Hollen’s (D-MD) introduction of the VA Home Loan Awareness Act of 2025, (read our release here), and Rep. Andy Barr's (R-KY) introduction of H.R. 654 that would subject the CFPB to the congressional appropriations process, read more here.
• ​Also, last Friday, we caught wind of document (see page 11) circulating on the Hill and sent a letter to the House GOP expressing our opposition to proposals that would eliminate the federal tax-exempt status of credit unions. See our comments provided to CUToday and Credit Union Times.

Join DCUC, Call on Congress to Preserve the Credit Union Tax Status

📣 Act now! Let’s present a united front to defend our industry and members!

DCUC is urging we all join forces to stand firm against misinformation and attacks on the credit union tax exemption.

We urge you to take a few minutes out of your day to send this sample letter to your Representatives and Senators. We need to thank them for recognizing the vital role of credit unions—especially those serving military and veteran communities—and urge them to preserve our tax exemption. Together, we can ensure credit unions remain a trusted choice for affordable financial services and exemplify an important part of the financial ecosystem, no matter how hard for-profit banks attempt to undermine our mission.

Advocacy Discussions
Protecting Credit Unions From the ICBA’s Criticisms & Calls for Tax Reform, featured in Credit Union Times

In this article published today, we address ongoing attacks against credit unions adn their missions, countering remissive claims about tax advantages, mission drift, and recent acquisitions of community banks. In our article, we call out criticisms and misleading arguments that meanwhile continue to overlook tax benefits enjoyed by Subchapter S community banks, such as pass-through taxation and other mechanisms. We will continue to defend credit unions’ lasting mission to serve underserved populations, emphasizing the positive community impact, member-focused operations, and the importance of having an honest, informed dialogue about tax equity and fairness within the financial markets.

"Credit unions are here to serve their members and their communities—not to meet the arbitrary approval of banking industry lobbyists. Whether it’s offering better rates, merging to expand services, or engaging in strategic marketing, credit unions remain focused on what matters most—serving their members. Meanwhile, the banking industry remains fixated on profit, rather than on truly providing value to America's consumers and communities. Credit unions continue to step up and step in when traditional banks fail to meet the needs of millions of Americans. Until that changes, the ICBA should focus on addressing its own concerns rather than attempting to undermine the mission of credit unions"
​
Read more here.

If you have any questions, concerns, or wish to discuss these or other advocacy matters, please do not hesitate to Jason Stverak, DCUC Chief Advocacy Officer at [email protected] or 202.557.8528.