WASHINGTON -
Since 1994 when the Republicans won control of the House for the first time in four decades, the credit union lobby built close ties to key GOP leaders; whether it was then Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, his successor Dennis Hastert, House Majority Leader Dick Armey or his successor Tom DeLay. Each of these figures played important roles in pushing key credit union bills to a vote, including HR 1151-the 1998 CU Membership Access Act-and after that, the bankruptcy reform bill.
But times have changed and last year's elections' bringing the Democrats back to power means the credit unions have had to revisit relationships with new leadership in both the House and Senate.
Recent weeks have accented this trend, as key Republicans in the House have either announced their retirements or, in a few cases, died.
Among the retirees are: Hastert; former Republican Conference Chair Deborah Pryce; and senior lawmakers Jerry Weller, Ralph Regula, Ray Lahood, David Hobson, Rick Renzi, as well as Republican senators Chuck Hagel, Wayne Allard, John Warner and Larry Craig. In addition, two senior GOP House members have passed away, Paul Gillmor and JoAnn Davis.
The exit of so many senior Republicans will make it much more difficult for the GOP to regain control of Congress in next year's elections.
Luckily, credit unions have always seen themselves as bipartisan, with friends on both sides of the aisle, according to several sources. This will prove to be critically important as the credit union lobby continues to work for passage of its legislative priorities, especially the CU Regulatory Improvements Act.
NAFCU President Fred Becker downplayed the affects of the GOP retirements and the exit of so many key credit union allies.
"I do not believe that the Republican retirements will have much affect or impact on CURIA as one definitive factor I have found over my many years in working with those on Capitol Hill is that change is a fact of life," said Becker. "One's work in building relationships with the Congress never stops. NAFCU's pro-active lobbying staff is continually working both side of the aisle to advocate on our members behalf."
