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House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, and Reps. Andy Barr, R-Ky., and Sean Duffy, R-Wis., talked to NAFCU Congressional Caucus attendees about overregulation and how to spur economic growth during remarks made at the conference's closing day session.

Barr decried the "avalanche of red tape" coming out of Washington, and he said the Dodd-Frank Act has not fulfilled promises to end "too big to fail."

"You guys are Main Street U.S.A.," Barr said, criticizing the outsize impact Dodd-Frank has had on credit unions. "You are the exact opposite of Wall Street." Barr pledged to continue to try to fix Dodd-Frank and to "provide an off-ramp, particularly for smaller institutions and credit unions," to create more exemptions for those institutions.

Duffy, who chairs the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, praised credit unions for their strong relationships with communities.

"How does our economy grow?" he asked. "It comes from small financial institutions that can actually lend in our community."

He said a "one-size-fits-all" approach will never work for both banks and credit unions, and he promised to continue to demand transparency and accountability from CFPB through his subcommittee work. He urged Caucus attendees to stay in touch with their lawmakers about their concerns.

"Help us help you," he said. "You're on the front lines in this space."

Chairman Kevin Brady touted his tax reform plan at Caucus (Kevin Dietsch photo).

Brady offered an overview of his committee's "Better Way" blueprint for tax reform, released in June.

"Credit unions always do better when the economy is stronger," Brady said. He argued that the weak economic recovery and stagnant wages could be jump-started by meaningful tax reform that prioritizes job creation, savings and investment.

The blueprint does not include any mention of changing the credit union tax exemption. NAFCU remains vigilant in protecting the exemption and will continue to monitor tax reform discussions in Congress.