As we say goodbye to the 109th Congress and prepare to welcomethe 110th, now is a good time to pause and consider what creditunions were able to accomplish this past year--and what unfinishedbusiness we may pursue in the session beginning in January.

Perhaps most importantly, the 109th passed a regulatory reliefbill for financial institutions, legislation championed by retiringHouse Financial Services Chairman Mike Oxley (R-Ohio) and designedto remove many outdated and unneeded regulations.

While credit unions would have liked to have seen more in themeasure--NAFCU had backed a House bill that contained over a dozenspecific credit union provisions--the new law brings some importantrelief to credit unions. Not the least of which is language toaddress the accounting problems that merging credit unions wouldhave faced when the Financial Accounting Standards Board implementsits new business combination rules. The legislative clarificationof how net worth is treated for prompt corrective action purposeswas sorely needed and now ensures that merging credit unions areable to count the combined net worth of both institutions.

Credit unions, of course, have their own bill, the Credit UnionRegulatory Improvements Act, CURIA, that we have actively pursuedin the past two Congresses. With 125 cosponsors at the conclusionof this Congress, we made more progress than ever before inencouraging lawmakers to join us in our effort to improve theregulatory climate for credit unions.

One provision in CURIA that we'll certainly be focusing on inthe 110th is risk-based capital and PCA reform. Other importantprovisions include raising the cap on member business loans,allowing credit unions to continue serving their SEGs when theyconvert to a community charter and requiring at least 20% ofmembers to vote in favor of a credit union conversion. We will alsobe seeking legislation to permit all credit unions to addunderserved areas to their fields of membership, an effort that webegan laying the groundwork for this year.

Because of retirements and the mid-term elections, we'll besaying goodbye to some credit union friends in Congress. I'vealready mentioned Mike Oxley, who did not seek reelection thisyear; but we also lost another former committee chairman, Jim Leachof Iowa, who was chair of the House Banking Committee during thefight to pass H.R. 1151. Leach lost his bid for reelection, as didsuch credit union stalwarts as J.D. Hayworth of Arizona and ChrisChocola of Indiana. But on the plus side, credit union advocate andbank critic Bernie Sanders of Vermont won his bid for the U.S.Senate.

Sanders has requested a Government Accountability Office studyof the advantages banks enjoy as a result of government aid andwhat that has cost the American taxpayer. He also assured attendeesthis year at NAFCU's Congressional Caucus that if he were electedto the Senate, he would introduce CURIA in that chamber.

Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala), who has capably chaired the HouseFinancial Institutions Subcommittee, will become the rankingRepublican on the Financial Services Committee. He has been a fairand thoughtful chairman, always willing to work with credit unions,and we look forward to continuing our relationship with him.

We also look forward to working with Rep. Barney Frank,(D-Mass.) the committee's new chairman, who is expected to pursue amore activist agenda as the Democrats reassert power after a12-year hiatus. At an FDIC forum several weeks ago, Frank indicatedhe wants to focus on ways to bring more lower-income people intothe financial mainstream. He said he's planning legislation tochange the Federal Housing Administration loan ceilings to apercentage of median housing prices (not flat dollar amounts). Healso wants to see anti-predatory lending efforts on behalf ofmilitary personnel expanded to all consumers.

The beginning of a new Congress brings many opportunities to getreacquainted with returning members of the House and Senate andmeet newly elected members of Congress. And with all the newchairmen, this is an especially important time for credit unions tovisit with their newly elected officials.

Fortunately, credit unions are no strangers to politicalinvolvement. In fact, 80% of the credit unions responding toNAFCU's November Flash Survey indicated that their board members orsenior staff had contacted their member of Congress within the lastyear. Twenty percent indicated that a member of Congress hadvisited their credit union within the past 12 months. Many of theissues that Flash respondents said they discussed with their memberof Congress will be on our plate in the new Congress, includingCURIA, preservation of the credit union tax-exemption, datasecurity, member business lending, payday lending, credit unionconversions and municipal deposits.

Last, but not least, we expect the bankers to be quite active inthe months ahead. Already NAFCU has paid courtesy calls on a numberof key members of Congress to reinforce the credit union message ofservice as a counterpoint to the bankers' mischaracterization ofthe recently released NCUA data collection and GAO reports.

I am optimistic that we can make even greater progress on ourissues in the new Congress, but we must also work hard to tell thecredit union story on the Hill and in the media. With our criticsemboldened by changes in Congress, we must remain vigilant in theNew Year.