WASHINGTON-This week, Speaker of the House John Boehner will be only the second sitting Speaker to address CUNA's Governmental Affairs Conference.
The first was Newt Gingrich, the Georgia Republican who thrilled the 1998 GAC audience with his announcement that he would bypass a long-standing tradition of speakers specifically not signing up to co-sponsor bills and add his name to the list of co-sponsors of HR 1151.
This time, it's a Republican from the state of Ohio, and while there isn't a do-or-die credit union bill in front of Congress right now, it's still a testament to how far credit unions have come on Capitol Hill. Credit Union Journal caught up with Boehner just days before GAC to ask him to share his insights and observations as Speaker of the House.
Credit Union Journal: Credit unions have been coming to Washington for the past 15 years asking for Member Business Loan cap relief, and when they are there they hear bipartisan support. Yet no legislation ever passes. Why?
House Speaker John Boehner: Well, the Founding Fathers wanted to design a government that was predisposed against moving too quickly to change the laws of the land, so I guess you could say that's a tribute to them. In all seriousness, I have a great appreciation for the unique nature and role of credit unions in communities across the nation, including the role they play in helping underserved populations.
This is a tricky issue, and an example of the kind of issue that is best addressed through what they call regular order, which is something Washington has unfortunately gotten away from over the past decade or two. To me, regular order means legislation starts with hearings, moves through committee, both chambers produce a product, the House and Senate work out the differences in committee, and a final bill goes to the president.
There are exceptions to every rule, of course, and it isn't always possible to do it that way. But my experience has generally been that when you do that, you tend to get a stronger product. As I've often said, we need to let legislators be legislators again, and Majority Leader (Eric) Cantor, Majority Whip (Kevin) McCarthy and I have been looking for ways to slowly bring that culture back.
CUJ: How would you describe the job of being Speaker of the House? What don't people know about the position? What do you consider the biggest challenge?
Boehner: Well, as I'm fond of saying, a leader without followers is just a man taking a walk. My job isn't to impose my will on the House or my own members. Our job in the People's House is to listen to the people and follow their will.
One of my bigger challenges has been reminding my Republican colleagues that we don't run Washington. We have the majority in the House of Representatives, but we're a minority in Washington, facing a Democratic president and a Democratic-controlled Senate. That means Republicans in the House and Senate and the 30 Republican governors across the country need to work together. We might not win the policy outcome we want every time, but there's no reason we can't win the debate every time.
The key is sticking together. Sometimes it's hard to keep 200-plus frogs in a wheelbarrow long enough to get a bill passed in the House. It isn't always pretty, and I never predicted it would be. But when we've needed to, we've gotten it done. Before I was elected to the House, I ran a small business back in Ohio. I ran for Congress because I thought we needed more people in Washington who understand the private sector and know what it means to hire workers and meet a payroll. I still think there's a shortage of people with that kind of experience in Washington, and it shows in some of the policies coming out of this town.
CUJ: What do you know about credit unions, and are you a member? What has been your experience?
Boehner: I do have a great appreciation for the role credit unions play in communities across America. That's one of the reasons I'll be addressing the CUNA Governmental Affairs Conference this week, as I did back in 2011. I think Newt [Gingrich, R-GA] was the last sitting speaker before me to do it. Credit unions are important to our communities and to our economy. I like listening to the folks involved with them, and I appreciate their interest in hearing from me.
CUJ: The one word everyone seems to use to describe Congress is "divided." Why? Can this ever be resolved, or is it the very nature of the country and the institution?
Boehner: Well, we have a divided Congress. It's a fact of life. Republicans control the House, and the president's party controls the Senate. Sometimes he likes to pretend otherwise. I go back to my discussion earlier about regular order. There are two chambers in Congress. One of them hasn't even passed a budget for almost four years-something most people would say is the most basic responsibility of governing. It takes two to tango. The House passed legislation twice last year to replace the sequester you're hearing so much about right now with better spending cuts. The Senate never acted on that bill, but never passed anything else to replace it either.
This year, Senate leaders have promised they'll pass a budget. They also say they'll act to replace the sequester. We're eager to see them keep those pledges. If they do, maybe things will be a bit different.
CUJ: Do you see financial institutions in general getting any regulatory relief from the new Congress?
Boehner: The president and his party control the White House and Senate. In order to make any regulatory relief happen of any kind-for credit unions or any other part of our private economy-the president and his party need to allow it to happen. The only chance of them doing that is if case has been made for it and they're feeling the pressure to act. Last year the House passed what the Wall Street Journal described as the most significant regulatory relief agenda since President Reagan, as part of our effort to support American job creation. But almost all of those bills died in the Senate, which never brought them to a vote or even had a debate on them.
It goes to show you what proponents of common sense regulatory relief are up against. Some regulations are necessary and desirable, and we need to keep those while we get rid of excessive ones that are gumming up the economy and stalling job creation.
