Jim Nussle thinks Congress would be so surprised to see credit unions and banks working together to advance legislation, it might help move it forward.
CUNA's new president/CEO told CU Times he has already scheduled a meeting with Community Bankers of America president/CEO Camden Fine to discuss the possibility.
"One opportunity we have is to recognize that we're not in this alone. Small credit unions, credit unions of all shapes and sizes, as well as small community banks, have much in common with regard to regulatory challenges," Nussle, a former Iowa Republican congressman, said Friday.
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"(Fine and I) know we're going to disagree on issues … but on areas where we can work together in order to possibly surprise Congress, meaning surprise them that bankers and credit unions actually have various common interests, that might work to our benefit in trying to move legislation," he added.
Nussle, former director of the White House Office of Management and Budget for President George W. Bush, said the gridlock in Congress has stalled the agendas of industry groups across the board.
"If you're in Washington right now to prevent something bad from happening to your industry, you look like a genius because everything is being prevented from moving," he said. "We have some things we want to prevent – no question. Certainly, we want to prevent any changes to the tax exempt status for credit unions, that's part of the reason why we are who we are and what we are and how we serve our members."
Nussle was asked if supporting a mix of candidates from both parties was the best strategy for CUNA, given the lack of action on credit union issues in the divided Congress. In response, Nussle said CUNA's advocacy strategy is not regionally or philosophically based in one party or the other.
"We support candidates that support credit unions and that just happens to be, and thankfully, a bipartisan consensus. There are many on both sides that are supportive of credit unions and we want to help them because they are willing to help us. It just happens to be a very bipartisan scenario and almost equally bipartisan," he responded.
"I have not detected a specific attempt to make it equal, that just happens to be the case because of the strength of the bipartisan support that there is for credit unions," he added.
Regardless of which party controls the Senate after the midterm elections, Nussle said CUNA is in a strong position to move the credit union agenda forward in Congress.
"Our job is to remove barriers – part of our job is to recognize every opportunity we can remove barriers so credit unions can be the most effective financial partners for their members," Nussle said.
When asked if he plans to change or eliminate the current dual membership requirement, Nussle said CUNA's board established a task force for the discussion of governance.
"We've been doing a lot of listening to our partners, our members, our constituents and to stakeholders, so at this point in time, I think it's premature to comment on that and say one way or the other. We believe we have a very strong system," he said. "I can tell you that one of the reasons I took this job was the strength of the system and the reputation that system has outside of the four walls of the CUNA offices."
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