One might say credit unions in the Golden State – the home oftwo 2016 CU Times Trailblazer Award winners – are on aroll when it comes to political action.

Jeremy Empol, vice president of federal government affairs forthe California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues, said the leaguetakes an aggressive approach to ensure its credit union members areengaged in state and federal advocacy.

“Our membership is fired up and they're engaged,” he said. “Theyare proactive and they're a part of the process that makes itpossible for us as the advocacy team to bring successes.”

As part of that engagement, credit union members in Californiaand Nevada work to ensure their members of Congress understand theimportance of regulations and laws in the credit union space. Thisis evidenced by the number of local politicians who have signedletters in favor of credit union initiatives.

For example, 10 members of Congress from California and Nevadarecently wrote to the NCUA supporting the field of membershipproposal. This was a huge accomplishment for the league, accordingto Empol, as no other members of Congress wrote to the NCUA insupport of the proposal.

Members of Congress who wrote in support of the FOM proposalfrom California and Nevada included: Reps. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.),Paul Cook (R-Calif.), John Garamendi (D-Calif.), Brad Sherman(D-Calif.), Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.), LindaSanchez (D-Calif.), Ami Bera (D-Calif.), Joe Heck (R-Nev.) and Sen.Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.).

In their joint letter on the FOM proposal, Aguilar and Cookhighlighted how the county of San Bernardino – which they share aspart of their districts – would be a beneficiary of the newrule.

Empol, who has a background as a lobbyist, said the league'ssuccess in the political action space stems from its ability togive members of Congress their constituents' support as well astheir credit union members' active support for members ofCongress.

“We are able to draw these successes out there and get thatfeedback from members of Congress putting pressure on the NCUA, orin the case of the FOM rule or the MBL rule, making sure the NCUAhas that congressional support so it can carry out that functionthat will help credit unions,” he said.

In the case of the MBL rule, Empol said California and Nevadacredit unions have marked the bill as a priority.

“Our membership depends on us to fulfill their requests, sowe've been out there and we've educated members of Congress,” hesaid.

Empol said of the 10 letters from members of Congress on the MBLrule, nine were from California and one was from Nevada.

Still, the need for support does not end when a rule isfinalized. Empol said after the RBC2 rule was complete, he and theleague teamed with Rep. Juan Vargas (D-Calif.) to pen a letter tothe NCUA expressing concerns about the rule and its potentialunintended consequences. The letter, which 12 members of Congresssigned, asked the NCUA to consider the concerns.

One part of educating members of Congress includes demonstratingthe impact a proposal or rule would make on their constituents.Empol said he draws upon the experiences of the leagues' membersfor examples of how a rule will either work in favor of a Congressmember's district or harm a credit union's ability to serve itsmembers.

For example, a credit union CEO might tell his or her electedofficial about the obstacles preventing the credit union from doingmore business lending, or provide testimonials on the number ofjobs the credit union could create after a particular measure ispassed, Empol explained.

The cyclical nature of the membership supporting the league andthe league supporting the membership also enables success, hesaid.

“Together we launch this very aggressive advocacy and theresults speak for themselves,” Empol said.

Engagement begins with a commitment from the leagues' board andmanagement, Empol said, adding that boards are fully engaged, whichhelps foster support from member credit unions.

“They do that because of the understanding of their role inadvocacy,” he added. “They all have that 100% commitment.”

Peer-to-peer support often allows CEOs who understand theimportance of advocacy to speak with other credit union executives,fostering engagement and understanding – and bringing advocacy to acredit union that may not be as engaged.

“It spreads. It's almost viral,” Empol said of the efforts.

He said even some of the smaller credit unions head to the GACand consider it a priority.

“All of that comes back together,” Empol said, noting that afterGAC, one small credit union will tell other small credit unionsabout its experience, such as how it signed up for a payrolldeduction program to provide donations to CULAC, CUNA's PoliticalAction Committee.

“That's part of advocacy,” he said. “That's one-on-one membercontact. That's peer-to-peer.”

Thanks to the PAC's efforts, local credit union members cansupport political candidates who back credit union initiatives.

“It's great to go to Congress and ask them to introduce a bill,but if the membership doesn't want it, then they aren't going tohave the votes,” Empol said. “Members of Congress do what theirconstituents want.”

He added, “Our members have been engaged, and they want theleague and CUNA to be successful.”

Part of that success, he said, stems from the presence of twoCalifornia congressmen who understand the importance of the creditunion movement. With Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calf.) and Sherman in theircorner, California and Nevada credit unions have two of the bestcredit union supporters in Washington. Both are popular speakers atcredit union-sponsored events and conferences; Empol called themthe pentacle of credit union supporters and experts on credit unionissues.

Both sit on the influential House Financial Services Committeeand signed onto a recent letter penned by Reps. Adam Schiff(D-Calif.) and Steve Stivers (R-Ohio) calling for CFPB DirectorRichard Cordray to use the bureau's Dodd-Frank Act authority undersection 1022(b)(3)(a) to adapt regulations to exempt any class ofentity from its rulemakings.

The league worked with CUNA to create the initiative, which iswhy Schiff is one of the lead authors, a league spokesperson said.At press time, 329 bipartisan Representatives had agreed to sign,which represents more than 75% of the House. Thirty-nine ofCalifornia's 53 representatives and all four from Nevada have alsoagreed to sign.

“Our members do this fantastic job in advocacy and it helps whatwe are able to accomplish in Congress,” Empol said. “I cannot makean ask of Congress without the support and the engagement of thecredit unions.”