The times we’re living in may be a whole lot different from what we’re used to, but that doesn’t mean that advocacy stops. Right now, with so much happening on Capitol Hill, is one of the most important times to have credit union voices heard. And so instead of a planned summer Hike the Hill, Tennessee’s credit unions hiked from the comfort of their homes and offices taking part in the Tennessee Credit Union League Hike@Home event.
With meetings throughout the week of July 20-24, a hundred credit union advocates made their voices heard to their federal delegation speaking on issues such as expanding the Central Liquidity Fund, automatically forgiving loans under $150,000 given in the Small Business Administration’s Payroll Protection Program (H.R. 7777), raising the Member Business Lending cap, and reforming the Bank Secrecy Act’s anti money laundering provisions as a vehicle within the National Defense Authorization Act.
While the results from advocacy sometimes yield fairly slowly, the Hike@Home event generated immediate returns. Congressmen Cooper, Kustoff and Roe all signed on as cosponsors for H.R. 7777 on Friday, July 24, after meeting with credit union advocates. This is a direct result of the impact of advocacy and how credit union voices can influence the conversation and generate legislative action.
While the final outcome of H.R. 7777, the Coronavirus Phase 4 bill, the NDAA, and other legislative activities is still unknown, the Tennessee Credit Union League will remain actively working these issues until the bills become laws.
