Death, Retirement, Prison Help To Shrink 1 Delegation

WASHINGTON - Retirements, death and even prison sentences have decimated the Ohio delegation in the House, leaving credit union champion Steve LaTourette as then state’s senior Republican on the Financial Services Committee.

LaTourette, one of the original sponsors of HR 1151 (the landmark CU Membership Access Act) in his freshman year in the House, noted last week the departure of several of his Ohio colleagues from the House over the past two years.

The Ohio delegation has been known in recent years as one of the most reliable for credit union support, providing important backing not only for HR 1151, but for initiatives like bankruptcy reform and CURIA.

But attrition has claimed some of those friends, as LaTourette pointed out.

First, there was the retirement of Mike Oxley, a strong credit union supporter who chaired the Financial Services Committee for six years. Also retiring in recent months were Deborah Pryce, David Hobson and Ralph Regula.

Paul Gillmor, another senior Republican on the committee, died last September.

In addition, Bob Ney was sentenced to prison on corruption charges last year.

That makes LaTourette, now in his seventh term, the highest ranking Republican from Ohio on the Financial Services Committee. (c) 2008 The Credit Union Journal and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.cujournal.com http://www.sourcemedia.com