Credit Unions Make Themselves Heard on Capitol Hill, Hill Staffer-turned-CUNA Lobbyist Magill Says

WASHINGTON - Even before joining CUNA as its new top lobbyist, John Magill knew credit unions can "make a joyous noise" when they want to.

CUNA's new senior vice president of legislative affairs heard it plenty last November around the time of the Ways & Means Committee hearing on the credit union tax-exemption. Magill just recently retired as chief of staff to senior committee member Wally Herger (R-Calif.), who spent the last 12 years on Ways & Means.

Members of Congress have 70-90 different issues a day before them, he explained, but as a result of the hearing last year, the members of the Ways & Means Committee-the tax-writing committee-are definitely more aware of the credit union tax issue.

"Credit unions are becoming a more powerful voice on the Hill," Magill observed. "CUNA is not a household word yet but we're going to work on that." Getting the 87 million credit union members on board is crucial so that "when muscle needs to be flexed the members stand up."

Magill attended part of the notorious November hearing and commented that Greater El Paso's Credit Union CEO Harriet May handled Chairman Bill Thomas' (R-Calif.) questioning with "grace and vigor." After the hearing and with election season coming up, he said, "Hopefully, we've put this to rest for the rest of this year." He added that Thomas' primary focus seemed to be on larger, nonprofit hospitals and threw a "fairly wide net" that credit unions got caught up in.

That is why it is important to remain vigilant. "Hopefully, the days of this Congress are so limited there will be something else on the agenda," he said. However, if there is a lame duck session after elections, which Magill said is highly likely this year, "all the rules are tossed out the window." Lawmakers and their staffs want to go home for the holidays and deals may get brokered that otherwise would not pass muster. Though the Ways & Means Committee members do not generally have an appetite for taxing credit unions, he noted, something could get slipped in on another vehicle and having friends on Capitol Hill to help keep an eye out for you as well is helpful.

Despite Thomas' announced retirement at the end of the session, "The banks will keep [the tax issue] alive but hopefully the environment will be much different. We're going to work very hard on that," Magill said.

He said some names that have been floated as possible Way & Means Committee chairs if the Republicans hold the House include Clay Shaw (R-Fla.), Nancy Johnson (R-Conn.), Herger, or Jim McCrery (R-La.). "Obviously, we'll support whoever the chairman might eventually be," he stated. Magill originally came to Washington, D.C. in 1974 for what was supposed to be a couple of years but ended up staying over 30. "It just gets in your blood. You really just can't let it go. It's serious, but there's great sport in it," he said of politics.

While he enjoyed his time serving on Capitol Hill, he added, "At this age, it's do it or don't." He was eligible for retirement, at the age of 54, from the federal government and took the leap.

Around 300 guests attended a reception Herger held for Magill at the Capitol Hill Club, including House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), Appropriations Chairman Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.), Senate Armed Services Committee Chair John Warner (R-Va.), and even the vice president of Panama, Samuel Lewis, who he described as a family friend.

"We had a smaller event in Mr. Herger's office. It was not quite as joyous," Magill explained. He had hired most of the staff there and now there would be restrictions on talking to any of them or the congressman. "It was like leaving your children behind," he said.

As CUNA's latest addition to its lobbying team, for right now Magill said he is working to get his hands around the credit union issues and quipped that the plethora of acronyms are tricky. While he knew CUNA President and CEO Dan Mica and former Senior Vice President of Legislative Affairs John McKechnie from their time on the Hill, Magill was not familiar with the rest of CUNA's lobbyists, but had heard nothing but positive feedback from other Hill staffers. He also commented, "I've been a member of a credit union for years and years and I like the product." And Magill just generally supports fewer taxes and not-for-profits.

Magill is hoping the connections he made over his 30 years on the Hill will help out CUNA. He wants credit union-friendlies friendlier. He wants to pull the ones on the fence "our way" and keep the non-friendlies at bay. He acknowledged that the bankers have a lot of money on their side but they do not seem as organized and credit unions have "the right issues and right generally wins out."

As vice president of the Capitol Hill Club, Magill spends some time there, where members of Congress frequent and are in a more relaxed setting. A lot of work gets accomplished there, he said. At home he splits his time between his wife and two children. His wife, Susan, is also a recently retired Hill staffer having served for Senator John Warner (R-Va.). She is now working for Pew Charitable Trusts. His daughter, Beth, just graduated college and is considering Yale Divinity School for next semester. His son, Jay, is a sophomore in college home for the summer.

When the family gets the chance, they take a weekend at their condominium in Lewes, Del.

-scooke@cutimes.com