 Your weekly advocacy update: Stay informed, take action, and champion the voice of America’s defense credit unions! Stay up to speed as we push forward! Follow along with our weekly announcements here. Top Priorities This Past Week DCUC issued a letter to Senator Elizabeth Warren following her January 23 letter regarding proposals to cap credit card interest rates and expand consumer protections. In its response, DCUC reaffirmed its shared commitment to protecting consumers from abusive financial practices, while strongly cautioning against a one-size-fits-all 10% interest rate cap that would restrict access to safe credit for military families, servicemembers, veterans, and lower-income borrowers. Read more here. Ahead of the Senate Agriculture Committee markup this week, DCUC wrote to Chairman John Boozman and Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar on why they should reject any effort to include the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) legislation governing digital assets. Read more here. This controversial interchange amendment has no place in a digital asset policy bill. The CCCA is fundamentally about credit card routing and interchange fees – topics squarely under the jurisdiction of the Senate Banking Committee, not the Agriculture Committee. It has never been considered through regular order by the Banking Committee, where issues of payments, interchange, and consumer credit rightly belong, wrote DCUC. DCUC also sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer urging Congress to pass legislation funding the federal government and avoid a shutdown that would jeopardize financial access and pay for millions of military members and their families. Government Shutdown Update While the Senate’s passage of an updated government funding bill marked progress, the reality of a government shutdown now taking place is deeply concerning for our nation’s service members, veterans, and the credit unions that serve them. Federal uncertainty disrupts financial services, erodes confidence, and places additional strain on federal employees, beneficiaries, and their families. DCUC urges both chambers of Congress to act swiftly to complete appropriations and restore stability and predictability for the communities that depend on it. Be prepared to support your members during uncertain times. DCUC’s Government Shutdown Resource Center provides helpful tools and best practices to support your credit union's service to those impacted and facing financial hardships. What A $250M Credit Union CEO Brings To One Of The Movement’s Most Visible Roles, featured by CUToday
It’s an unusual pairing—by asset size alone. But for Sayer, the juxtaposition captures something essential about modern credit union leadership: scale does not always define impact.
“She deeply cares about the future of the credit union movement," Hernandez said. “I appreciate her no-nonsense leadership style which is familiar to most military professionals and I admire her tenacity when she asks the tough questions to quickly get to a workable solution. Yet, she is fiercely loyal, extremely supportive, and someone you want in your corner." “A voice that is grounded in defense readiness, financial resilience, and real-world experience,” Stverak said. “Her leadership serving active-duty service members, military families, and veterans, while simultaneously running a small credit union, gives her an unmatched understanding of how financial stability directly supports military readiness and mission success. “Just as importantly, Maggie ensures that the small credit union perspective is not only represented, but heard and respected at the table,” continued Stverak. “She speaks with credibility, clarity, and authenticity that resonates with policymakers and industry leaders alike. We are incredibly fortunate to have her serving as our chair.” NCUA Update
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced the appointment of NCUA Chairman Kyle Hauptman to the board of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB).
Kyle is an incredibly talented official, and I am confident of his continued wise judgment and success in this new appointment,” said DCUC Chief Advocacy Officer Jason Stverak. “He has left a record of success and leadership at the NCUA that [will] be hard to eclipse. On a personal note, I have known and worked with Kyle since we were both staffers in the U.S. Senate and have been an admirer of his dedication and work ethic. DCUC Submits Four Comment Letters Supporting NCUA Regulatory Relief Proposals
This week, DCUC expressed its support to the NCUA in response to the agency’s first round of regulatory relief proposals. DCUC’s letters collectively express strong support for the NCUA’s efforts to modernize regulations, reduce unnecessary compliance burdens, and provide credit unions with greater flexibility to better serve their members.
Efforts to streamline regulations, taken together, provide meaningful relief to credit unions and allow them to devote more resources to serving members rather than complying with superfluous or dated requirements, DCUC wrote. Advocacy Discussions Military Pay Shouldn’t Be a Casualty Of Budget Brinkmanship, featured by CUToday The recurring nature of shutdown-related pay disruptions raises a broader policy question: While there is bipartisan agreement that servicemembers should be paid regardless of funding lapses, why do existing protections remain temporary? Legislation such as the Pay Our Troops Act and the Pay Our Coast Guard Parity Act would establish permanent safeguards to ensure uninterrupted pay for active-duty servicemembers, Guard and Reserve personnel, and essential civilian employees during any shutdown. Enacting these policies would remove military pay from the uncertainty of budget negotiations. Financial readiness is closely tied to military readiness. When servicemembers are concerned about meeting basic financial obligations, the impact extends to focus, morale, and overall readiness. Read more here. Why credit unions must advocate for equal opportunities in digital asset legislation, featured on CUInsight As digital assets become an increasingly important part of the financial landscape, it’s critical that credit unions secure their place as trusted, regulated providers in this space. The Defense Credit Union Council (DCUC) is actively advocating for credit unions to have the same clear authority and opportunities as other community financial institutions under proposed digital asset laws, such as the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 (H.R. 3633). Here’s why this advocacy is so important for credit unions and the members we serve... Read more here. Cut the red tape, not the mission: Why credit unions need smarter regulation now, featured on Tyfone The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) has wisely adopted a policy direction to “review and potentially revise” all its regulations with an eye toward **removing rules that are obsolete, duplicative, or “overly burdensome”. This deregulate-where-possible approach is paired with an unwavering focus on prudence: NCUA emphasizes that remaining rules must squarely support the “safety, soundness, or resilience” of credit unions. In other words, if a requirement doesn’t make credit unions safer or stronger, it’s on the chopping block, which is welcome news for institutions and members alike.
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