Imagine… and You Will Have to Imagine One More Time, Soon
by: Hon. Daniel A. Mica, Principal, The DMA Group
Imagine coming to work Monday morning, first thing the phone rings, it’s an important voice to you and they are telling you that they need your help and they are counting on you. Imagine this happening 20 times a day, all day, every day for three months. Different voices, numerous calls, the same concerns! For a CEO, these contacts could easily be directed to staff. For elected officials, they know that every contact represents a necessary advocate for them to keep their job. As an aside, they know and you should be keenly aware that during the next 90 days contacts like these will have their highest leverage for the entire upcoming Congressional session. Believe me, as a former Member of Congress, they listen and take note during these types of mass efforts.
Over a 60-day period in 2011, CUNA helped credit unions and leagues around the country organize and execute over 600,000 contacts on Capitol Hill. With 535 members in the House and Senate that is an average of more than 1,100 contacts per office or almost 20 contacts per day. This effort represents the largest grassroots credit union campaign in over a decade and it needs to be done one more time over the next 90 days.
As I’m sure you’ve noted in your career, with each promotion, each step up and new responsibilities you see the situation, the landscape, and the entire issue with a totally different perspective. If I learned one thing from my long tenure with CUNA it is that CUs fight the good fight. Generally against bank-backed, almost impossible odds, we project the voice of the little-guy, loud and clear. It has been two years since CUNA’s leadership reins passed from me to Bill Cheney and I now have a new perspective. I can see even more clearly that there are more activities, more positives, and more happening than almost anyone can perceive.
Earlier this year I wrote an article encouraging the credit union community to lay the groundwork for building support, possible consensus and legislative success so as not to be caught having to “throw a Hail Mary in the 4th quarter.” It is rewarding to watch the credit union movement continue to make positive gains in the legislative and regulatory arenas. From the first-ever Small Business “Hike the Hill” to working toward “exam fairness” with the “Credit Union Bill of Rights” there is no lack of progress being made. While the 24-hour news cycle grinds out stories on repealing Obamacare and looming tax cuts, CUNA is still working, credit union advocates are still working, and the leagues are still working. With massive distractions, political partisanship and an unending assault from the banks, it is amazing how the credit union movement, the leagues and CUNA continue to fend off attack after attack. Yet they continue their relentless pursuit of goals and strategize for positive outcomes all with a credible and respected voice on behalf of our nearly 7,000 credit unions and 100-million members.
Of course, in a presidential election year the politics of any issue become amplified often to the point where policy could possibly be affected. With MBL, we have been walking a fine line on this front and doing everything possible to keep the banks from over politicizing the issue. As we all know, expanding credit union MBL is not just good regulatory policy for CUs, but it is also good economic policy for the United States.
While this high profile issue has been at the forefront of many people’s minds, there are several other legislative and regulatory battles being fought to great success. At the writing of this article, the passing of the ATM Bill in the U.S. House of Representatives is a solid victory for credit unions and efforts are being made to have similar success in the Senate on this issue. The recent announcement by NCUA to delay final rulings on CUSOs and loan participations highlight the weight of CUNA and the credit union voice when opposing the expansion of regulatory burdens. While standing alone these accomplishments may not resonate with fanfare but amassed together these achievements are signs of a strong and prolific movement. A movement that has no trouble imagining the sounds of the phones ringing up on Capitol Hill. Now, don’t just imagine more calls and contacts…make it happen!
Dan Mica, former head of the Credit Union National Association (CUNA), established The DMA Group as a means to combine a myriad of experience into a one-stop consultancy. Elected in 1978 to represent Florida’s 11th district in the U.S. House of Representatives, Dan Mica served five terms before beginning what would become more than two decades of work in the world of non-profits and association management.
The DMA Group is a full-service consulting firm, providing the highest level of integrity and service through established practices and decades of experience. www.dmagroupdc.com
