Cornerstone’s GAC Wrap-Up

Cornerstone League has been participating in the activities and events surrounding the CUNA Governmental Affairs Conference and simultaneously holding numerous meetings with policymakers and elected officials.

Last week, Cornerstone held its Legislative Briefing with more than 130 credit union leaders in attendance. The purpose of the briefing was to ensure that league members had the tools to be successful during the CUNA Governmental Affairs Conference and virtual Hill visits with lawmakers.

Cornerstone President/CEO Caroline Willard discussed the extraordinary political partisanship and contentious atmosphere in Congress.

“We have taken stock of the current situation and its impact on how we approach advocacy and fundraising,” Willard told the group. “We continue to listen to your feedback. Our movement has done some soul searching, but we continue to focus on our core concern, which is protecting credit unions.”

On March 1, Cornerstone advocates from Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas met virtually with National Credit Union Administration Vice Chairman Kyle Hauptman. More than 130 credit union leaders attended the meeting, which was led by Cornerstone Chief Advocacy Officer/EVP Jim Phelps.

The pandemic was among the initial topics discussed, including the ways organizations have adapted to doing business virtually, such as NCUA examinations. “The pandemic has forced us to live life differently,” Hauptman said. “But some things we might want to keep, like telemedicine. How do you think it’s going now that NCUA exams has gone virtual?” 

Credit union leaders’ answers were largely positive on the virtual exams, citing some necessary workarounds to NDAs and converting records to digital formats for uploading to NCUA’s document portal.

One of Hauptman’s priorities before his term is up in August 2025 is adding newly chartered credit unions, often referred to as “de novo” institutions. He wants to make it easier to start a credit union, especially in places where there are no financial institutions or people are underserved or unbanked.

“If there are no new credit unions, and all we have are mergers and failures, we need to look at new credit unions,” Hauptman said. “Americans who want credit unions near them should be able to have them.”

On Monday and Tuesday, Cornerstone League credit union advocates met virtually with elected officials from Texas, including Rep. Lloyd Doggett, Rep. Jodey Arrington, Rep. Veronica Escobar, and Derek Bonett from the office of Sen. Ted Cruz. The rest of the week comprises more virtual meetings across the region, including with elected officials from Arkansas and Oklahoma.