Continue barrage of contacts; strong numbers needed to pass S. 2231

To pass federal legislation that will help small businesses and create jobs, credit unions must keep a steady stream of contacts piling up in both of Wisconsin’s U.S. Senators’ offices. Try a variety of advocacy efforts to maintain a steady and strong stream of contacts until the U.S. Senate calls a vote on S. 2231.

With each new Senator supporting S. 2231 – the Small Business Jobs Bill—the legislation moves closer to a vote on the Senate floor. But neither of Wisconsin’s Senators—Ron Johnson & Herb Kohl—have committed their support, leaving to Wisconsin credit union Activists the task of convincing them. The U.S. credit union movement is relying on us to get the job done, not only for the immediate good it will do for Wisconsin’s small businesses, communities and credit unions, but also to increase the political clout of credit unions for future policy or regulatory relief measures.

"Significant numbers of creative and constant contacts made by supporters is absolutely essential to winning the support of our U.S. Senators," said League VP of Government Affairs Tom Liebe. "With widespread participation, we have the opportunity to show Wisconsin’s Senators that we’re strong, sincere and not going away."

The League has supplied materials to make contacts by email, letter and toll-free phone number, as well as other tools – like a sample editorial and letter to the editor – to capture media attention and fight banker opposition.

We need every credit union to follow these steps to ensure success for Wisconsin’s communities and credit unions:

Send a pre-written email to our Senators.
If you’ve sent a pre-written email, send a personal email or letter to each Senator.
If you’ve sent a pre-written email and personal message, call each office using the toll-free number 1-877-642-4223 to tell each Senator’s staff you support S. 2231.
Publish this sample article in your member newsletter or online to educate members and allow them to participate in this advocacy.

If every employee and board member took 30 seconds to send an email, we would nearly triple our current contacts to each office.

"Credit unions should continue to ask small businesses to share their stories," Liebe added. "Business owners telling their own story makes this battle less of an abstract political argument between banks and credit unions and provides context showing how important passing the bill is for Wisconsin job-creators."

Questions? Contact Government Affairs Specialist Sarah Wainscott at (608) 514-0086.