Capitol Hill Talking Points Checklist (printable version)

Preparation and “Do’s and Don’t’s”

During meetings, our goal is to build relationships with legislators, tell our story about the credit union difference, and highlight bills pending before Congress that credit unions support. Please remember: these meetings are about credit union issues. We have limited time and need to focus on our objectives.

The overarching themes to weave into the conversation are that credit unions are committed to:

• “People helping people.” Please share a short member story or data on your credit union’s volunteer work/financial contributions to the community.
• Supporting access to homeownership. Please share information on downpayment assistance programs or affordable housing programs your credit union offers.
• Promoting financial wellbeing. Please share information on financial literacy classes, Bite of Reality partnership opportunities, and other efforts your credit union supports to build financial wellbeing in the community.

Additionally, drafting a one-page “leave behind” sheet with important information on your credit union can be very effective. Plan to bring this “leave behind” with you (or email it to the congressional staffer following the meeting). Your “leave behind” should:

• List any basic “pedigree” information about your credit union: size, membership, charter type, assets, basic product offerings, and branch locations.
• If you are a Minority Depository Institution (MDI), Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), and/or a low-income designated credit union (LICU), please explain and elaborate on your programs.
• Detail benefits of our tax exemption, showing your credit union’s give-back and direct return of value to your members and the community. Please categorize this area as “financial wellbeing.” Policymakers expect entities to demonstrate how they are serving their constituents during the pandemic (and beyond).
• Offer to be a resource for constituent case work dealing with pandemic financial issues.
• Provide information on your credit union’s greater financial wellbeing efforts, such as lower-cost fees, expanded services to low-income or rural communities, details and numbers regarding financial services workshops, and examples of programs that directly and indirectly impact various communities within your membership.
• Include your name, phone number, and email address — all in large font (16-point recommended).

The Leagues’ meeting script provided below will outline the basics, allowing you to then offer information about legislative impacts on your credit union. Our advocacy team will ensure follow-up. Each congressional meeting will run 25 – 30 minutes. REMINDER: team leaders are assigned by the Leagues as guides to help maximize your time spent, and everyone is encouraged to speak and participate.

“Do’s and don’ts”:

• “Do’s”: Prepare and review talking points prior to the meeting. Make sure to arrive five minutes early. Team leaders should split talking points ahead of time. Please take notes and thank lawmakers/aides for their time.
• “Don’ts”: Don’t mention PAC or anything election related. Don’t go off-script or discus other issues (focus on credit unions). Also, don’t use acronyms (CCUL, DFPI, NCUA, CFPB, etc.). Finally, don’t answer a question that you wouldn’t know the answer to.

Introduction (1 minute)

Please provide:

• Your name and title/position.
• Your credit union (include whether you represent a CDFI, MDI, or LICU).
• The number of members your credit union serves in the congressional district.
• Your credit union’s field of membership.
• Your credit union’s service area.
• Whether you are a constituent. If you are not a constituent, share the number of branches your credit union has in the congressional district.

H.R. 3881/S. 1838: Credit Card Competition Act (3 – 4 minutes)

• Authors: Reps. Lance Gooden (R-TX) and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA); and Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Roger Marshall (R-KS).
• Background: Retailers pay credit card interchange fees for the convenience of instant payment and assuming no data security requirements. If there is a data breach, credit unions use a portion of interchange fees to defray the cost of replacing compromised cards and reimbursing consumers.
• Summary: The Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) requires financial institutions with $100 billion or more in assets to offer at least two credit card networks for transactions to be routed on. The merchant would choose the network to process the transaction.
• Status: Introduced in the U.S. House and Senate. Sen. Roger Marshall claims the Senate will have a vote before the 2024 election. The Senate may have a markup in the Senate Judiciary Committee in February or March.
• Message: The CCCA will cost consumers money and their data privacy. Please oppose the bill.
• Sound bites:
  • Retailers won’t pass the savings to consumers.
  • The CCCA creates space in the marketplace for weak cybersecurity networks, leaving consumer data vulnerable to fraudsters.
  • 95 percent of consumers support the current interchange system AND say data security is a top priority.
• Concern No. 1: Data security is a problem. The CCCA lacks merchant data protection requirements. This gives merchants the option to choose low-cost credit card payment networks over reliable systems. Fraud has doubled over the past 10 years, and now is not the time to cut corners on data security.

• Concern No. 2: The exemption won’t protect credit unions. Although there’s an exemption for institutions with $100 billion or less in assets, smaller institutions will be impacted as experienced with the debit interchange regulations (see below for more context on debit interchange).

Our “Ask” of Congress:

• Oppose the Credit Card Competition Act.
• Questions to consider/data to share: How has your credit union responded to credit card data breaches? How were your members affected? How much does it cost to replace a credit card?

Federal Reserve’s Regulation II: Proposed Debit Interchange Rule (3 – 4 Minutes)

• Background and summary: If finalized, this proposed debit interchange fee rule by the Federal Reserve would:
  • Reduce debit interchange revenue fee caps per transaction.
  • Automatically update fee caps every two years based on a formula. Data from the formula is limited to information from large financial institutions ($10 billion and over).
  • Have future modifications to debit interchange fees based on a formula and without public comment.
•  
• Status: The rule was proposed in 2023, and the deadline to submit a comment through the Federal Register is May 12.
• Message: Please “stop and study” the proposed rule on debit interchange fees.
• Sound bites:
  • Consumers won’t save money. More than 98 percent of retailers maintained or raised prices after the existing rule went into effect, despite promising to pass down savings.
  • Consumers will lose banking options. Over 5,000 credit unions and community banks closed after the existing rule went into effect.
  • The proposed rule will impact the entire industry. It is founded on data from financial institutions with $10 billion-plus in assets.

• Concern No. 1: The proposed rule redirects credit union revenue to big-box retailers, with little benefit to consumers. Following the implementation of Regulation II in 2011, most retailers failed to lower prices as promised while banks and credit unions suffered, leading to a significant decline in free checking and closures of small financial institutions.
• Concern No. 2: The proposed rule would automatically update debit interchange fee caps based on data from financial institutions with $10 billion or more in assets. This does not account for the impact on smaller financial institutions and does not allow for public comment.

Our “Ask” of Congress:

•  Please co-sponsor the “Secure Payments Act” from Rep. Luetkemeyer. This “Stop and Study” would stop continued work on the proposed Reg II rule and require the Fed to study the impact of the rule on products offered to low-income communities and the impact of the rule on small financial institutions.
• Question to consider/data to share: How was your credit union affected by the debit interchange rule?

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Proposed Overdraft Regulation (4 – 5 Minutes)

• Background and summary: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has proposed a regulation that requires financial institutions with $10 billion-plus in assets to break-even on each overdraft transaction OR implement a “safe harbor” fee ranging from $3 – $14.
• Status: The deadline to comment is Monday, April 1.
• Message: Please “stop and study” the proposed rule and its potential impact on smaller financial institutions. The deadline to send a comment is Monday, April 1.
• Sound bites:
  • Consumers opt-in to overdraft protection services.
  • The proposed rule sets a problematic industry standard on overdraft protection services.
•  
• Concern No. 1: Overdraft protection services provide vital support for individuals encountering unexpected financial hurdles, offering a flexible and transparent means to manage their finances with ease.
• Concern No. 2: The proposed rule, derived from the data of major financial institutions, overlooks the potential impact on smaller ones. This oversight creates a harmful industry precedent, potentially limiting consumer access to banking.

Our “Ask” of Congress (Republicans):

• Send a letter to the CFPB by April 1 that asks the bureau to “stop and study” the proposed rule. For more information, please reach out to Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC). He will be circulating a delegation letter (ONLY REPUBLICAN OFFICES).
  
• Questions to consider/data to share: How many credit union members opt-in to your credit union’s overdraft program? Do you have member stories to share about the benefits of this program?

Our “Ask” of Congress (Democrats):

• Send a letter to the CFPB requesting the bureau to “stop and study” the proposed rule, taking into consideration its impact on smaller institutions.
• Questions to consider/data to share: How many credit union members opt-in to your credit union’s overdraft program? Do you have member stories to share about the benefits of this program?

Quick Cosponsor Opportunities

By cosponsoring the following non-controversial bills, members of Congress can help propel credit unions into the future.

• H.R. 4867/S. 539 (Veterans Member Business Loan Act): This bill would empower credit unions to offer more loans to veteran-owned businesses by not counting those loans toward the lending cap. Currently, the amount of loans that credit unions can offer is restricted because existing law caps credit unions’ business lending to 12.25 percent of assets.
  • Thank you to Reps. Ken Calvert, Brad Sherman, Julia Brownley, Ted Lieu, Salud Carbajal and Doug LaMalfa for cosponsoring the bill!
  • Keep other existing info and questions on this bill. 
  • Question to consider/data to share: How many veteran-owned businesses have applied for loans from your credit union?
    
• H.R. 6933 (Expanding Access to Lending Options Act): Current law limits the life of a business loan from credit unions to 15 years. This bill would extend the life of a business loan to 20 years.
  • Thank you to Reps. Juan Vargas, Brad Sherman and Young Kim for introducing the bill! 
  • Question to consider/data to share: How would this support members applying for loans?
    
• S. 610 (Credit Union Board Modernization Act): The bill would update the Federal Credit Union Act by modifying the requirement that credit union boards meet once a month to not less than six times per year.
  • Thank you to congressmen and congresswomen in the House of Representatives for voting in support of this bill.
  • Questions to consider/data to share: How would this bill help your credit union board? Would it help older board members with health issues to stay on the board? Might it attract younger board members with busy work schedules and families?

National Data Standard for Retailers

• Background: Depository institutions are held to a national standard of data privacy and security under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA).
• Concern No. 1: Retailers lack similar enforced standards, creating a gap in legal requirements that harms credit unions and consumers.
• Concern No. 2: Hackers accessed Target’s gateway server, compromising up to 40 million credit and debit cards, while Home Depot faced a similar breach.
• Concern No. 3: In 2022, data breaches affected 422 million U.S. individuals, with fraud rates doubling between 2011 and 2021.
• Concern No. 4: After a data breach, credit unions make members whole. We replace the compromised card and recover funds lost to fraudsters.

Our “Ask” of Congress:

• Please consider setting a national standard for financial data security that holds retailers accountable during data breaches.

CA League and NV League Priority Letters

The California Credit Union League’s “priorities” letter and the Nevada Credit Union League’s “priorities” letter highlight our goals and are included in the materials already received and reviewed by many members of Congress and/or their staff aides. These letters and our meeting script reflect almost identical messaging. Everyone should read this letter ahead of meetings to best understand how to guide their meeting.

Sound Bites for Awareness (NOT Our Meeting Script)

Below are some suggested sound bites and elevator-speech messages that will be useful for your conversations with members of Congress and staff. Please be prepared to discuss data from your individual credit union, but do not feel it has to be accurate to the exact percent (you can round it).

• Not covered (miscellaneous) — We can circle back with an answer to provide accurate information on any subject that is not covered here. Stephanie Cuevas from our trade association — the California Credit Union League or the Nevada Credit Union League — will be in touch in the days ahead.
• Navy Federal Credit Union — Like you, we saw headlines about Navy Federal Credit Union and its mortgage lending practices. We cannot speak for the credit union. In good news, America’s Credit Unions’ analysis of mortgage lending data shows that borrowers saved as much as $70,000 over the life of a 30-year fixed rate mortgage in 2022 when financing with a member-owned credit union rather than Wall Street banks and mortgage companies.
• Wellbeing and inclusion — Credit unions provide accessible and affordable basic financial services to people of all means and encourage the equitable distribution of capital across all individuals, families, communities, and small businesses. Our mission enables us to continue the work of improving our members’ financial wellbeing and advancing the communities they serve. Congress can improve on this by removing operational barriers, modernizing the credit union charter, and eliminating archaic rules designed to exclude participation in a credit union.
• Tax status — Our concern is making sure there’s not a single bill to tax credit unions. We need congressional leaders to be prepared to step up and speak up for credit unions, recognizing the role we continue to play in the community. Credit unions work to create greater financial wellbeing for all, and this includes times when the U.S. dollar is stretched to its maximum. In dollar terms, the credit union tax status amounts to five hours of running and operating the U.S. government out of one calendar year. Meanwhile, credit unions return roughly $19 billion annually to communities across the nation each year. Regardless of size and scope, a credit union is a not-for-profit cooperative financial institution, operated by volunteers and owned by those who use it.
• Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) — The FHLB continues to be an excellent source of liquidity. Like other financial institutions, credit unions must be prepared for economic uncertainty to provide excellent member services. In July 2023, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) published a notice indicating credit unions should maintain access to a variety of liquidity options. Access to liquidity helps address interest rate risk. With inflation elevated and the Federal Reserve expected to possibly continue raising short-term interest rates, liquidity helps credit unions stay ahead of financial challenges on the horizon. The FHLB system, regulated by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), offers low-cost loans called “advances” to credit unions. The home loan bank’s earnings support affordable housing and community development programs.
• Cannabis banking — Providing financial services for cannabis-related businesses is a choice for each individual credit union, and only a few are offering these services until there is a change in federal law.
• Cryptocurrency and digital assets — Consumers trust their credit unions to provide them with safe, affordable products and services. Credit unions should be able to extend that relationship into the cryptocurrency space. Furthermore, other cryptocurrency and digital asset providers should be regulated in a manner consistent with credit unions and other similar financial providers.
• Fintechs — Decades of strong regulatory oversight have built a financial system that many consumers trust to balance risk with growth. Congress must hold fintech companies to this same rigorous oversight, preventing them from engaging in regulatory arbitrage.
• Preventing banking deserts — The No. 1 reason a credit union acquires a bank is because banks trust credit unions to stay local. They know credit unions almost always preserve bank branches and retain branch employees, thus preventing the creation of possible banking deserts.
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) leadership — When regulations change due to a new administration, credit unions must shift resources away from consumers to catch up. A diverse commission would create a strong, stable, and consistent environment for financial institutions and consumers.
• Policies tailored to fit credit unions’ unique model — As not-for-profit cooperatives, credit unions should not be subjected to standards designed to reign in the poor practices of large Wall Street entities. Rules affecting credit unions should be informed by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), which has a stronger understanding of our unique needs and abilities.
• Housing affordability — For consumers incorporating homeownership into their financial journey, credit unions are a critical partner to a safe, equitable, and stable experience. Credit unions can empower low- and moderate-income homeowners who may not be able to secure affordable, fair, and sustainable mortgages from other creditors. Credit unions support equal access to the secondary mortgage market for lenders of all sizes. This provides consumers with more options when choosing a mortgage partner. Credit unions also support affordable and reliable mortgage payments for qualified consumers, exiting the Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) from conservatorship, and preserving cost-effective servicing options that also include an element of financial education. Most importantly, we support equal access for all — including appraisals without bias — to ensure the quality, objectivity, and reliability of the lending process for everyone involved. This is critical to ensuring homeownership is accessible regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, or color.

U.S. Credit Union Facts

Facts about U.S. credit unions:

• 139 million American consumers (more than 13.3 million in California and nearly 400,000 in Nevada) rely on credit unions for their financial wellbeing.
• Credit unions are doing everything in their power to aid members and communities. This comes from our commitment to service.
• Every day — currently and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic from 2020 to 2022 — we have advanced our not-for-profit, collaborative mission.
• Our 7.5 percent market share of the entire U.S. financial services marketplace means there is always more we can do.
• Nationally, we provide $18.5 billion in direct and indirect benefits to the consumer, outweighing our $2 billion price tag for the credit union tax status.
• $13.6 billion is directly returned to U.S. credit union members in the form of annual savings.
• $5.3 billion is returned to non-credit union members simply from credit unions being in the financial services marketplace.
• Credit unions pay nearly $29 billion annually in local, state, and other federal taxes across the nation.
• Credit unions also serve underserved markets and keep assets local as for-profit lending has shifted from Main Street to Wall Street in many communities.