WASHINGTON-House Financial Services Committee Members Bob Ney (R-Ohio) and Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), and Representative Harold Ford (D-Tenn.) will serve as featured guests on a panel during CUNA's Governmental Affairs Conference next month. Ney and Sherman will discuss how credit unions are perceived on Capitol Hill and how that should shape their political efforts. The panel discussion is scheduled for the morning of Tuesday Feb. 25, during the GAC general session. "Before our attendees make their Hill visits later that day, we intend this session to get a good dialogue going, with plenty of audience participation, on how our message, our philosophy and our political and grassroots involvement at home affect how we're seen through the eyes of Congress," CUNA Senior Vice President of Government Affairs John McKechnie explained. Ney and Sherman were both active in discussions concerning credit union issues in regulatory relief legislation, which is expected to return to Congress' agenda this year. Ney also received the 2002 Cooperative Statesman Award during National Co-op Month for his support of credit unions and others, and he has begun work on introducing a credit union regulatory relief bill. Ford has said he represents a "new generation of political leaders who seek to replace the partisan politics of the past with fresh ideas and a pragmatic approach to the challenges of the 21st Century." He is a member of the House Financial Services Committee. At just 26 years of age, Ford was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1996. CUNA's 2003 GAC will take place February 23 – 26 at the Hilton Washington Hotel in Washington, DC. – [email protected]