GOP's Senate Win Is CUs'Loss

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - (11/04/04) -- The Republican Party scored itsbiggest victory in congressional races Tuesday with the defeat ofDemocrat Tom Daschle, the Senate Minority Leader, who was targetedby the GOP for his obstruction of the Republican agenda in theSenate. But Daschle, who narrowly lost to former Congressman JohnThune, was one of the biggest credit union supporters in theSenate, helping to push through HR 1151, the CU Membership AccessAct of 1998, and leading the charge on bankruptcy reform. "Seeinghim leave the Senate is a loss of a friend," NAFCU lobbyist BradThaler told The Credit Union Journal. "Senator Daschle," said JohnMcKechnie, chief lobbyist for CUNA, "had been a friend of creditunions and the (South Dakota) league had been close to him datingall the way back to 1978, when he was in the House." Daschle isexpected to be succeeded as Democratic leader in the Senate byHarry Reid of Nevada, who has less of a record on credit unionissues.