More than 1,500 credit unions – about one in four – haveparticipated in CUNA's three-week-old “Don't Tax My Credit Union”initiative, according to Richard Gose, senior vice president ofpolitical affairs.

That's produced more than 65,000 messages to Congress through aCUNA websitecreated specifically for the campaign, the trade group saidMonday.

Some credit unions have promoted the site to their members,using Facebook, Twitter, website banner ads and even direct mailadvertising, Gose said.

Others have just used the promotional website to send letters tomembers of Congress from executives and volunteers. That sitehas received more than 185,000 page views from more than 92,000unique visitors, Gose said, directed from credit unions and adsplaced by CUNA in social media.

And, said Executive Vice President of Government Affairs JohnMagill, Congress is listening. Magill recently attended acongressional event with about 25 elected officials, and said sometold him the campaign is already making an impression.

Grassroots participation from credit union members is importantnot only because lawmakers are influenced by voters, but alsobecause many new faces on Capitol Hill are not familiar with thepower of the credit union movement, Gose said.

Only about 30% of the current Congress was in office in 1998,when credit unions scored their most recent major legislativevictory with H.R. 1151, the Credit Union Member Access Act, Gosesaid.

Sending that powerful grassroots message regarding tax statuswill have a positive residual effect when credit unions ask forother legislative priorities like a higher member business lendingcap or supplemental capital authority, the CUNA lobbyist added.

Magill said a tax reform bill may be introduced later this summer, but creditunions should not wait until then to get involved.

“We're a small part of a huge bill,” Magill said. “This isn't anup or down vote like H.R. 1151. We could get lost in the whitenoise and chaos, so we want to have our voice heard now.”