DCUC Takes New Step In PAC Giving, Asks Candidates To Put CU Positions On Record
By CU Today Staff —
WASHINGTON—For the first time, the Defense Credit Union Council is asking congressional candidates to put their positions on key credit union issues in writing as DCUC looks to bring greater accountability to decisions about where its growing political action committee directs its money.
The new 2026 Federal Candidate Policy Survey, sent through DCUC's Defending Credit Unions Political Action Committee, asks candidates for the House and Senate to answer 20 questions covering issues ranging from the credit union tax exemption and interchange to NCUA governance, fraud, digital assets and policies affecting military and veteran communities. Candidates have until Oct. 9 to respond. For each question, candidates can answer “Yes,” “No,” “Undecided” or “Need more information” and provide comments or qualifications.
DCUC President and CEO Anthony Hernandez said the questionnaire is intended to give the organization and its members something more concrete than assumptions about where candidates stand when PAC support is being considered.
"As DCUC's PAC continues to grow, we must make strategic decisions on where to invest our member's PAC donations," Hernandez said. "We never want to be wasteful or simply assume a member of Congress will vote in support of our industry simply because we wrote a nice check."
The questionnaire represents a significant new step for a PAC that DCUC launched in the second half of 2024. DCUC has said the PAC was established to strengthen the political voice of defense credit unions and advocate on legislative and regulatory matters affecting credit unions, servicemembers, veterans and their families.
Hernandez said asking candidates directly about issues before deciding where to put political resources is hardly unusual.
"This is nothing new. Every trade association asks the same types of questions whether it is the League of Women Voters, AARP, the NEA, and even the American Bankers Association. DCUC is no different,” he explained. “As such, it is our responsibility to direct our limited financial support to those members of Congress who recognize the impact of our nation's credit unions on our military families and veterans along with supporting the mission of Armed Forces in austere environments.
"Plus, there is an expectation that these members of Congress will sponsor and/or vote for policies that empower and enable all credit unions to support our military families and veterans,” continued Hernandez.
The questionnaire is broad. It goes beyond asking whether a candidate generally supports credit unions, instead seeking commitments on specific legislation and policy actions. The first eight questions address the federal tax treatment of credit unions; preserving the member-funded structure of the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund; maintaining an independent, Senate-confirmed, multi-member NCUA board and credit union specific supervision; regulatory tailoring and examination fairness; CFPB reform and NCUA's role in consumer oversight; keeping credit unions outside the Community Reinvestment Act; field-of-membership modernization; and predictable funding and administration of the CDFI Fund.
The remaining questions drill into veteran business lending, loan maturities, interest-rate caps, interchange, Section 1071, Bank Secrecy Act modernization, digital assets, fraud, credit union technology and CUSO authority, Central Liquidity Facility access, financial services on military installations, and military and veteran financial policy.
Specifically, DCUC asks candidates:
The survey does more than collect yes-or-no answers. Candidates are also asked to identify the three issues they believe Congress should address first and explain why, disclose optional military, military-family, credit union, small-business or community-finance experience, and certify that the responses represent their positions as of the submission date. Importantly, the form tells candidates that DCU PAC will publish their responses—or note that no response was received by the deadline.
That publication requirement gives the exercise a second purpose beyond PAC decision-making: creating a record DCUC and its member credit unions can return to after the election, stated DCUC Chief Advocacy Officer Jason Stverak.
Stverak, responding to information he received that some credit union leaders were concerned with DCUC's questionnaire, said seeking specific answers from candidates should be part of the industry's political advocacy.
“I find it interesting that anyone would have concerns about seeking more information about candidates’ positions during an election,” Stverak said. “DCUC has a responsibility, on behalf of defense credit unions and the members they serve, to ask sitting members of Congress and congressional candidates where they stand on issues vital to the credit union industry and on the issues that directly affect the unique mission of defense credit unions.
“We should know whether they support preserving the credit union tax-exempt status. We should know whether they support the ‘one bank, one credit union’ principle on military installations around the world. We should know whether they support veterans member business lending legislation. These are important questions, and asking them is part of our responsibility to our members,” continued Stverak. “Ultimately, our members deserve to know whether a candidate is truly a credit union champion or simply looking to cash a campaign check."
Stverak said DCUC plans to use the responses as a baseline documenting candidates' positions and to guide its engagement with the next Congress. When candidates say they support an issue, he said, DCUC intends to follow up to determine what that support means in practice—including whether they are prepared to introduce legislation, recruit congressional support and work to move legislation into law.
“Our plan has always been to make this process as open and transparent as possible for our members. We intend to post scanned copies of the responses on our website and clearly distinguish between candidates who responded, those who declined to participate and those from whom we have not received a response,” he explained. “Defense credit unions deserve to see the answers for themselves, understand where candidates stand on the issues we raised and have a clear record for those conversations when the next Congress convenes.”
Hernandez said even a decision by a candidate not to participate provides DCUC with information it can use.
"The information we gain from this survey, even if a member of Congress elects to ignore the survey, will be invaluable for our member credit unions,” Hernandez said.
Originally reported by CU Today.