Wednesday night, in front of several hundred credit union advocates from across the country including a delegation from our states, the Philadelphia Phillies scored three runs on five hits to defeat the Washington Nationals. The Nationals, with four hits on the night, did not manage a run scored. Mercifully, most of our attendees, with the notable exception of our fearless leader in advocacy Sarah Waters, were unfazed by the night’s scoreboard. Baseball is often about taking advantage of the few opportunities that you’re given to make a difference.
Advocacy is no different. We normally only take two trips to Washington a year to advocate, as a group, directly to members of Congress. Each one is an opportunity to further a relationship, make a direct ask or maybe just keep something top of mind. This week was about the latter. With the House adjourning early and no plans for their return until the Lame Duck period after the midterm elections, setting the stage for this Congress’ final sprint in November and December is critical.
This week, we focused on asking for support and even co-sponsorships in fighting the resurgence in check fraud (Strengthening Transaction Oversight and Preventing (STOP) Payments Fraud Act of 2026 – HR9331), increasing loan maturity limits (Expanding Access to Lending Options Act – S3616/HR4167), and raising the thresholds for Currency Transaction Reports and Suspicious Activity Reports (Streamline Act – S3017, Financial Reporting Threshold Modernization Act – HR1799).
We also used the meetings to continue to share our opposition to the Credit Card Competition Act as well as to tout our partnership in Tennessee with the Financial Literacy Commission and all the work that credit unions do in their communities every single day.
Thank you to all of our credit union advocates who joined us in Washington this week.
Be on the lookout for information coming soon about our next D.C. hike opportunity—the 2027 Governmental Affairs Conference. With a likely four new members of our federal delegation, and the potential for more, 2027 GAC will be a critical advocacy opportunity early in a new Congress.
