Credit union leaders have made progress over the past week in Washington, D.C. as the industry was marked by the preservation of its long-held tax status in the U.S. Senate Finance Committee’s draft of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” (H.R. 1).
Additionally, the industry monitored successful passage of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act (GENIUS Act — S. 1582) without any detrimental “poison pill” amendments that credit union leaders were concerned over.
The impact of credit unions’ unified advocacy in safeguarding the interests of the nation’s 142 million credit union members has been undeniable over the past several weeks.
The Senate Finance Committee’s initial text of H.R. 1, the sweeping budget reconciliation bill, notably omits any changes to the credit union tax status. This significant win follows a year of preparation by the California Credit Union League, Nevada’s Credit Unions, and America’s Credit Unions for upcoming tax policy discussions.
This robust defense has included generating over 850,000 grassroots letters directly to congressional lawmakers from credit union advocates, a digital advertising campaign that has garnered over 128 million impressions and engaged over 191,000 activists nationwide, and regular contact with all U.S. Senate offices. The message has remained clear during this most recent period: credit unions are built for Main Street, and a new tax on credit unions hurts 142 million members.
Beyond the core tax status, H.R. 1 includes several provisions favorable to credit unions and their members. These include exemptions for a new remittance transfer tax and reporting requirements for transfers from credit union accounts or those funded by U.S.-issued debit and credit cards — a significant change attributed to the industry’s advocacy. The bill also allows members to deduct interest paid on auto loans for personal vehicles assembled in the United States and creates “Trump accounts” for minors, which are essentially long-term savings accounts for education, homeownership, and entrepreneurship.
Credit unions will have the opportunity to offer these products, potentially in partnership with credit union service organizations (CUSOs) or third-party providers. Other relevant provisions include expanding the excise tax to employees earning over $1 million annually and allowing deductions for qualified overtime compensation.
In a parallel legislative victory, the Senate passed the GENIUS Act (S. 1582) on Tuesday by a decisive 68-30 vote, moving the bill forward with a debate limited to 30 hours and no additional amendments. The bill passed without controversial “poison pill” amendments that the California Credit Union League, Nevada’s Credit Unions, and America’s Credit Unions opposed.
Additionally, Sen. Roger Marshall’s “Big Box Bailout Bill,” which sought to impose new credit card interchange mandates, and Sen. Josh Hawley’s amendment to cap credit card interest rates at 10 percent, were both excluded.
Credit union leaders lauded the Senate for passing a “clean” GENIUS Act, asserting that keeping these amendments out protects consumers and small businesses. They have argued that adding provisions from the Big Box Bailout Bill would alter the current interchange system by placing government price controls on the credit card market and allowing retailers to choose the cheapest option to process payments. Consumers choose their credit card provider for a number of reasons — security, ease of transaction, rewards — but this bill would take away that choice and instead pad the pockets of retailers.
The successful removal of these amendments from the GENIUS Act was the result of full-court-press advocacy, including direct outreach to senators’ offices, activation of credit union members on LinkedIn, and a joint effort with the Electronic Payments Coalition and other trade groups.
America’s Credit Unions is now urging the U.S. House to pass the companion STABLE Act without any amendments, affirming that a clean bill will empower credit unions interested in providing stablecoin services to meet their members’ needs in the digital currency era (Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy Act).
These dual victories display the credit union industry’s robust and unified advocacy strategy.
Credit unions remain vigilant as H.R. 1 moves toward a full Senate vote before July 4, and efforts continue to prevent harmful interchange legislation from resurfacing in other bills, such as the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
