U.S. Capitol aerial view
The Defense Credit Union Council (DCUC) issued an urgent update this week to its Military Advocacy Committee, sounding the alarm over efforts in Congress to use the annual defense bill to push unrelated financial legislation that could harm military families and credit unions.
The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed two major cryptocurrency bills, the CLARITY Act and the GENIUS Act, the latter of which now awaits President Donald Trump’s signature after clearing both chambers. Meanwhile, the House voted to include the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act in the must-pass FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), marking what DCUC President/CEO Anthony Hernandez called a “significant development.”
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“For the first time, we’re seeing crypto policy tied directly to national defense legislation,” Hernandez said. “It sets a precedent that opens the door to additional financial policy, potentially even the Credit Card Competition Act [CCCA] — being inserted into the NDAA.”
In response, DCUC Chief Advocacy Officer Jason Stverak sent a letter to Senate leadership on July 17 strongly opposing any move to attach the CCCA to the Senate NDAA. “The CCCA poses serious risks to credit unions by limiting credit card networks and interchange fees,” Stverak wrote, adding that the bill “would raise fraud and cybersecurity risks for all cardholders, including our military families.”
The letter emphasized that the NDAA should remain focused on defense, not used as a “legislative shortcut” to advance divisive financial mandates. “Our servicemembers would see none of the promised price relief ... but would pay more in other ways while boosting corporate profits,” Stverak warned.
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Michael Ogden
Editor-in-Chief at CU Times. To connect, email at [email protected]. As Editor-in-Chief of CU Times since 2016, Michael Ogden has led the editorial team in all aspects of content strategy and execution, including the creation of the publication’s exclusive and proprietary research database of the credit union industry’s economic landscape. Under Michael’s leadership, CU Times has successfully shifted to an all-digital editorial product with new focuses on the payments, fraud, lending and regulatory beats. Most recently, he introduced a data-focused editorial product for subscribers that breaks down credit union issues into hard data, allowing for a deeper and more factual narrative for readers. In 2024, he launched the "Shared Accounts With CU Times" podcast, which offers a fresh, inside-the-newsroom perspective through interviews with leaders from the credit union industry and the regulatory world. He dives into pressing credit union issues, while revealing the personalities working behind-the-scenes to push the credit union world forward. His background includes years as a radio and TV anchor/reporter and a public relations and digital/social media manager, where he covered the food and music industries, as well as cooperatives and credit unions. Over the years, he has launched numerous exclusive video and podcast series, including a successful series of interactive backstage interviews with musicians at music festivals, showcasing his social media and live streaming production skills.
