Salvador Guerrero, AVP of corporate communications and public relations at Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union, made the four-hour trip from Live Oak to McAllen, Texas to talk credit union priorities with Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Texas. De La Cruz called a meeting to talk financial institutions and banking services while she was in her district office during the congressional summer recess, and staff invited Guerrero.

De La Cruz is the only freshman lawmaker on the House Financial Services Committee and ran several small businesses before being elected to Congress in 2022.

“She called this roundtable of bankers because she wanted to pick our brains,” said Guerrero, the only credit union representative at the meeting. “We talked about [the Credit Card Competition Act] (CCCA), digital security, fraud, digital currency, small business lending, and concerns about CFPB regulations that are hindering our business model. She took a lot of notes and seemed to really want to understand the issues.”

Guerrero was able to take the lead outlining the problems with the Credit Card Competition Act, and shared information about the credit union movement and the various differentiators from community banks De La Cruz knew from her businesses career.

“Banks and credit unions share a lot of the same issues, including our position on the CCCA,” Guerrero said. “De La Cruz supports our position too. She recalled that when the bill came to the House earlier in the year, it didn’t pass. But now that she has a better understanding of the problems with the legislation, she will be watching out for it if it’s brought to the floor again. She’s aware it’s a hot topic and not going away.”

Complete coverage of the meeting is available on the Cornerstone League site.