Executive Letter: Advocacy in Action
By Rose Oswald Poels
WBA staff and 22 Wisconsin bankers joined more than 1,400 bankers from around the country last week for Congressional Hill visits on banking industry matters as part of ABA’s Washington Summit. WBA Board Chair Al Araque and I are very excited by the increased number of Wisconsin bankers who joined us on this trip, as well as those who already signed up for WBA’s second Washington Trip next month in conjunction with ICBA’s Capital Summit. We are grateful that you have responded to our requests to increase your personal involvement in these critical advocacy initiatives, and we are very pleased with the many bankers who joined us for the first time.
The timing of our Hill visits last Tuesday was fortuitous, as the House was taking a floor vote the next day on a key issue we supported: H.J. Res. 59, a congressional resolution of disapproval that would nullify the CFPB’s overdraft rule. The passage of this resolution means that CFPB is never able to introduce a similar rule again. While the vote in the House ultimately was along party lines, we were able to highlight in meetings with every Wisconsin congressional office the benefits consumers received from overdraft programs, along with the consequences of capping such fees.
Tax policy is top of mind in Washington, D.C., which gave us the opportunity to discuss with some of our delegation the importance of continuing the tax provisions that will expire at the end of 2025 — notably, the Section 199A pass-through deduction. We also focused on the ACRE Act, which would help deliver savings to farmers and ranchers across the country by providing a tax break to banks when making certain ag loans secured by farm real estate and aquaculture facilities, and for certain home mortgage loans. Currently, Reps. Steil, Fitzgerald, and Van Orden are co-sponsors of the ACRE Act, and we asked the other representatives to become co-sponsors as well. Other topics we advocated for included legislation that would repeal or narrow the scope of Section 1071, stablecoin legislation, and trigger leads legislation.
The Wisconsin bankers who joined Daryll Lund and me on this trip found it to be very educational and productive. Without question, WBA is more impactful when constituent bankers help deliver messages to elected officials. I encourage all of you to consider joining WBA next month for our second Washington Trip, May 12–15, 2025; later in the year when we meet with regulators (not legislators), October 16–17, 2025; or make plans now to join us next spring.
Thank you to the bankers who attended the WBA/ABA Washington Summit!
• Al Araque, Johnson Financial Group, Racine
• Tom Bloomer, State Bank of Chilton
• Glen Calnin, State Bank of Chilton
• Bill Dyson, Ladysmith Federal Savings & Loan Association
• Morgan Farmer, Park Bank, Holmen
• Dave Feldhaus, Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago
• Kristen Gagliano, North Shore Bank, Brookfield
• Laura Hoerth, State Bank of Chilton
• Damian Hoerth, State Bank of Chilton
• Paul Hoffmann, Lake Ridge Bank, Middleton
• Shay Horton, Cumberland Federal Bank, FSB
• Corey Hoze, Associated Bank, Milwaukee
• James Meisser, Lake Shore III Corporation, Glenwood City
• Jeanene Meisser, Lake Shore III Corporation, Glenwood City
• Morgan Mielke, Premier Community Bank, Green Bay
• Tisha O’Dell, North Shore Bank, Appleton
• Greg Ogren, Security Bank Shares, Iron River
• Christine Ogren, Security Bank Shares, Iron River
• Mark Oldenberg, Security Financial Bank, Eau Claire
• Tom Pamperin, Premier Community Bank, Marion
• Robert Traylor, Horicon Bank
• Theresa Wiese, First Business Bank, Madison
• Sarah Ziemba, American National Bank Fox Cities
