DCUC’s commitment to CU advocacy: Strengthening credit unions’ support to military & veteran communities

First and foremost, I want to thank each of you for your steadfast commitment to delivering the finest financial products and services to our Nation’s service members, veterans, and their families. Your dedication is why the Defense Credit Union Council (DCUC) takes great honor in representing you. Your unwavering focus to Serving Those Who Serve Our Country ensures the credit union philosophy of people helping people remains a distinctive force within the financial industry.

I also want to thank each of you for your continued support of DCUC. We do not take our responsibility to our members lightly. We are proud to come to work every day to grow and strengthen our value proposition to each member credit union we serve and represent. We recognize every credit union is an important part of the overall fabric of this great industry and carry great pride in supporting you. However, serving our nation’s military and veteran communities’ financial prosperity is at the center of why we do what we do.

DCUC completed another successful year in terms of increasing member value. In fact, over the last decade, DCUC has made steady progress in transforming from a niche trade association to the second largest industry advocate and the only one who can post actual results. For those questioning DCUC’s overall value, I offer the following advocacy initiatives initiated by DCUC for consideration:

First, we have proven to be the toughest industry advocate when defending the credit union tax exemption. As the Trump Administration’s “Tax Cuts and Job Act” reductions expire, Congress has signaled its willingness to re-examine the industry tax exemption as part of the discussion. Regardless of which party controls Congress, we are already facing an uphill battle. DCUC saw this coming and spearheaded the industry’s defense by tackling any potential threats and conversations on challenging this long-standing regulation. Unfortunately, we can no longer count on traditional allies within Congress after a series of missteps by a few from within our own industry.