Community Banker Alert

We had previously contacted you with a general alert asking for members to contact their Congressional representatives in support of H.R. 2061, the “Communities First” legislation, that PACB and ICBA developed to help level the playing field between the mega, bank-like credit unions and community banks. Our Board of Directors has made this a top priority and we have aggressively lobbied the Pennsylvania Congressional Delegation at every opportunity both in their Washington, D.C. offices and back home during our outreach meetings in their districts. You’ll recall that this legislation would provide tax credits to qualified community banks and deep regulatory relief.

Now we urgently need your help. To demonstrate broad support for H.R. 2061, we must have a broad list of co-sponsors for the legislation. This is one strong indicator in the Congress for a bill’s chances for consideration. Our goal is to get as many co-sponsors as possible. While it may be difficult to have H.R. 2061 considered in its entirety, we need to prove to the Congress that community banks deserve regulatory relief including from the onerous provisions of Sarbanes-Oxley and need positive help in the unfair competition we face from the large, untaxed credit unions. Our goal is to have components of H.R. 2061 considered in other legislative packages the Congress may consider but again we can only do so by demonstrating strong support.

It is very important that your congressman co-sponsor this legislation. We have personally spoken with him and his staff and sent volumes of material to back up our request. The most effective way to convince him to co-sponsor, however, is a contact from you on your bank stationary. One of the reasons the credit unions have been so successful in Washington, D.C. is the numbers they generate back in the Congressional Districts. Now it’s our turn. The credit unions CURIA legislation (H.R. 2317) was introduced at about the same time our legislation was introduced. They have 69 co-sponsors and we have 44. While we are pleased we have 3 powerful Pennsylvanians on the bill (Hart, English and Holden), we need your congressmen because of their key positions and influence.

Please use the sample letter we’ve prepared for your use and have it printed on your bank stationary. Fax it to your Congressman’s D.C. office and make sure PACB receives a copy. In addition to the attached sample letter, we have listed the fax number for your convenience.

Again, H.R. 2061 is critical in our fight against the credit unions. You are our most effective lobbyist so please do not delay in sending this contact. We need you to send your letter today and we would love to have 100% participation. Dave Transue or I will follow up with a phone call to make sure we get this done.

FAX Number: Gerlach (6th District) -- 202-225-8440
FAX Number: Fitzpatrick (8th District) -- 202-225-9511
FAX Number: Dent (15th District -- 202-226-0778