As we speak, thousands of credit union advocates, employees, and partners are gearing up to attend the industry’s largest event, the 2026 Governmental Affairs Conference. This annual event, falling during the first week of March, is a rare and critical opportunity not just for credit unions to come together, but for credit unions to get in front of legislators, representatives, and senators, and advocate for their credit unions’ needs and the industry’s priorities.
Notably, this GAC will mark the first hosted by America’s Credit Unions’ new President and CEO, Scott Simpson. While Jim Nussle’s—the organization’s previous leader—specific brand of enthusiasm will be missed, credit unions are eager to see what changes and what kind of atmosphere Simpson brings to both the event and the organization as a whole, which is still barely two years old.
Key speakers and topics
The four-day event begins this Sunday, March 1st, and features a strong lineup of keynote speakers, including two Wall Street Journal bestselling authors, Rohit Bhargava and Kindra Hall; Dr. Brené Brown, a Professor of Practice in Management, organizational psychologist and bestselling author; American author and professor Adam Grant; and John C. Williams, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
As far as topics for the week go, Simpson has stated ahead of the event that America’s Credit Unions is focusing heavily on legislation the current administration is putting forth. While discussing the administration’s focus on affordability in an interview with CUInsight, Simpson stated, “This particular moment we’ve got to deal with a few pieces of legislation that the president has put in front of us, that we didn’t anticipate dealing with in 2026.”
Just today, America’s Credit Unions announced its nationwide campaign against the newly proposed Durbin-Marshall credit card mandates, otherwise known as the Credit Card Competition Act, which would require financial institutions with more than $100 billion in assets to offer more than one credit card network to be available to use on their credit cards in an effort to increase competition and lower interchange fees. Simpson has called these mandates “a solution in search of a problem,” which will heavily impact credit accessibility.
As the conference and its speakers prepare attendees for their meetings with members of Congress later in the week, these key legislative proposals and their potential impact on credit unions will certainly be prominent topics of discussion.
Additionally, the current state and future of the NCUA will hopefully be addressed. Typically, the conference hears from multiple members of the NCUA board. Last year, for example, both Board Member Tanya Otsuka and Board Chairman Kyle Hauptman spoke at the event. However, with Otsuka and Harper removed from the board by the president last year and Hauptman—whose term was set to expire in August of 2025—serving as the lone board member for over ten months now, many are wondering how long this period may last. Given the uncertain state of the board, an appearance from Hauptman at the event would potentially help clarify the future of the NCUA.
Stay in the know
Unable to make it to Washington this year? Not to worry! We at CUSO Magazine will be boots on the ground at GAC next week, reporting on every key event, speaker, and announcement made during the conference. So keep an eye out for our special reports, delivered daily straight from the nation’s capital to your inbox. To sign up, go to cusomag.com/subscribe.
See you there!
