One down, 99 to go.

Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) included the credit union taxexemption in his July 26 letter to Senate Finance Committeeleaders, the only senator to publicly do so.

Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and RankingMember Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) asked senators to submit lettersadvising the committee which tax exemptions should be spared thecommittee's blankslate approach, in which lawmakers should assume all exemptionswill be eliminated.

In his letter, Begich said Alaska is far removed fromtraditional financial centers and that credit unions play anoutsized role in the state's economy.

“That is why Section 501(c)(14), which grants tax exempt statusto credit unions, should be retained in any tax reform effort, toensure continued access to affordable credit for consumers,homebuyers and small businesses alike, all of which contributesubstantially to economic growth,” he said.

While Begich is the only senator to make his preference for thecredit union tax exemption public, it's possible other senatorssupported credit unions in their letters. That's because Baucus andHatch promised their colleagues they would keep the contents of theletters confidential. Only about 10 senators made their letterspublic.

Sen.Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) was among those who made his letterpublic, posting it on his website. Although he did not mentioncredit unions, he told committee leadership the tax code shouldcontinue to be utilized to encourage certain behaviors inAmericans, such as developing good savings habits.

Paul Gentile, executive vice president at CUNA, said that after meeting with several dozen senators overthe past few weeks, the trade has been told most of the lettersdiscuss broad themes and did not include specific provisions. And,a number of senators said they would speak privately with thecommittee leaders rather than write letters.

“So, we have a strong degree of confidence that a number ofother senators have weighed in on behalf of credit unions, and weare greatly appreciative of Senator Begich for having done sopublicly,” Gentile said Tuesday.

NAFCU Vice President of Legislative Affairs Brad Thaler calledhis trade's meetings with senators on the topic of tax reformpositive, and staffers have expressed support for the credit unionexemption.

“Furthermore, protecting the credit union tax exemption will bea big focus of our message to the Hill when we bring hundreds ofcredit union representatives to town for our Congressional Caucus this September,” he said.

Industry lobbyists will nonetheless have to contend with anoffensive from the banking lobby to end the exemption. The AmericanBankers Association on Tuesday launched a new website that willassist its members in their efforts lobbying against it.

“At www.aba.com/ItsTimeToPay,bankers can take grassroots action, view key messages and learnmore about why it's time to ask credit unions to pay their fairshare,” the ABA said in an email to members promoting the newsite.