If the House follows seniority, Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.), who once started and ran a community bank in suburban San Francisco, would be the next chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, while Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) takes a leave of absence because of ethical difficulties.
Stark, who was elected in 1972, chairs the pane's subcommittee dealing with health issues.
The committee has jurisdiction over a range of health and tax issues, including whether credit unions can keep their tax exempt status.
During the last three election cycles, CUNA's political action committee has contributed $5,500 to his campaigns. NAFCU's political action committee hasn't donated any money to his campaign coffers in that that time period.
Stark came to power in part because of his strong opposition to the Vietnam War. He placed a peace sign on top of his bank's headquarters and put peace signs on all of the bank's checks.
