Legislative Update with Chesney

Hike the Hill in DC is a great success and we appreciate the CU advocates who joined us in our nation’s capital! Our advocacy team now turns to Pints & Politics events!

by Chesney Garnos, Director of Political & Grassroots Affairs

The annual DakCU Legislative and Regulatory Hike the Hill event took place last week in Washington, DC. Our advocacy team and credit union leaders from across the Dakotas had pertinent conversations with our elected officials and regulators.

We kicked off everything off Tuesday morning at the Credit Union House where we met with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The group had a great discussion on fraud and overdraft.

That evening, we enjoyed a private tour of the US Capitol Building by Rep. Dusty Johnson. This was by far my favorite part of the trip! While I’ve actually given Capitol Tours before when I was an intern out in Washington, DC — there was nothing quite like the enthusiasm of the tour given by Johnson! Truly a one of a kind experience.

Wednesday was a full day, as our crew “hiked the hill” to the Capitol for a full day of meetings with the Dakota congressional offices. Pieces of legislation we discussed included legislation on trigger leads, student loans, preserving our tax credit status, and not amending drafts to the EFTA.

​We closed out the evening at the Italian restaurant, Osteria Morini where Chief Advocacy Officer Jason Stverak from the Defense Credit Union Council joined us. Some of our group even attended the Nats baseball game with the Carolinas League! It was the perfect ending to a successful 48 hours of advocating on behalf of our credit union members and credit unions!

Again, I would like to give a big THANK YOU to the credit unions that sent representatives to DC with our advocacy team to work on behalf of all Dakota credit unions:

• Black Hills FCU
• Northern Hills
• First Community CU
• Healthcare Plus
• Town & Country CU
• Dakotaland
• Western Cooperative CU

Now we turn our attention to our Pints & Politics events! Click here to find an event near you – I hope to see many of you there!