Legislative Update with Jay Kruse

Successful visits with Dakotas’ congressional delegation are highlight of GAC as our credit union professionals Hike the Hill. 

by Jay Kruse, Chief Advocacy Officer

Nearly 35 Dakota credit union professionals led by association staff made visits to Capitol Hill on Wednesday as part of Dakota Credit Union Association’s CUNA GAC agenda. 

SD advocates (left) and ND advocates (right) gather at Capitol Hill yesterday for Hike the Hill visits.

​Capitol Hill isn’t locked down quite as tight as it was last year when we were forced to navigate additional layers of security screening and be escorted from meeting location to meeting location by a member of our congressional delegation’s staff. I am very happy to report, we were able to roam a little more freely this year, which makes traveling from office to office on Capitol Hill much quicker and more enjoyable. We can’t thank our Dakota congressional offices enough for their help scheduling our meetings and for finding room for a group of our size! 

Most of our discussions this week began with us sharing our ongoing concerns about the NCUA’s intent to increase supervision and regulations on our agricultural lending credit unions in the name of “climate change.” It remains extremely important that we stand up for our Dakota ag-lending credit unions, but even more importantly, it’s on us to also stand up for our local producers. We also discussed a wide range of additional issues including the importance of maintaining interchange rules and the need for a federal safe harbor for cannabis banking. But most importantly, the credit unions in attendance were able to share not only some of the issues they are facing as they serve their members, but also some really significant success stories from their local communities as well.

Thank you to our Dakota representatives, Senators John Thune, Mike Rounds, John Hoeven, and Kevin Cramer, and Congressmen Dusty Johnson and Kelly Armstrong, along with their very hard-working staffs for taking good care of us and making sure our visit to Capitol Hill was welcoming and very productive. 

Finally, thank you to everyone that was able to join us this year in-person for the 2023 CUNA GAC. We couldn’t have asked for a better group to represent North and South Dakota credit unions, and I truly appreciate the opportunity to lead the advocacy activities for your association! Also, thank you to everyone that wasn’t able to attend but followed along via The Memo and our social media accounts. Your support is the secret behind all our success!
 
We are already looking forward to getting back out to D.C. this September for our Fall Hike the Hill, and we will never stop being your best advocate here and in our nation’s capital! As always, don’t hesitate to contact me with any advocacy related questions or concerns.