WASHINGTON - “There are really two things that stick out in my mind,” said Steve LaTourette, the Ohio Republican who was one of two chief sponsors of HR 1151. The first, he said, was being handpicked by then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich to be the Republican’s main sponsor (Democrat Paul Kanjorski had already agreed to introduce the bill).
“I got a call from Newt Gingrich. I was new to the banking committee and they had lined up Paul Kanjorski, and they needed a Republican to balance it out,” said LaTourette, who was a freshman House member at the time. “I was the newest guy on the block, but I was happy to do it because, and I don’t think Newt knew this, I had been a credit union member all my life and I loved credit unions–and still do.”
He remembered the original bill was just one page, as it was aimed at fixing just one thing, the Supreme Court ruling overturning NCUA’s multiple groups policy. It eventually grew into dozens of pages as other provisions were added on, he noted.
The second thing LaTourette remembers most is a phone call he got from a prominent banker in his home district. “When I introduced the bill I got a call from a CEO at one of the major banks in Ohio (Bank One). He said ‘you just lost any friends you have on the Financial Services (then called Banking) Committee. It’s 14 years later, I’m still in Congress and he’s not around anymore,” said the Ohio Republican.
