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NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger sent an email to the association's members yesterday requesting their support to defend the industry's tax-exempt status at the local level – though the exemption remains untouched in both the House and Senate bills.

"Together, we will continue to defend credit unions and ensure our communities and economy continue to benefit from your good work as well," Berger wrote in the email.

Berger's message was sent in light of recent attacks on credit unions' tax-exempt status by members of the banking industry. In the email, Berger pointed members to an independent tax study released by NAFCU earlier this year that found the credit union tax exemption benefits $16 billion to the U.S. economy each year.

Berger wrote an op-ed last week to defend the credit union tax exemption and its many benefits. In his email, he encouraged credit union representatives to respond with their own op-ed if anti-credit union exemption comments appeared in their local news publications.

The Senate Finance Committee voted the chamber's tax bill out of committee last night after considering a number of amendments throughout the week; none impacted credit unions' tax status.

The full Senate is expected to vote on the bill the week after Thanksgiving.

Yesterday, the full House passed its version of the tax bill. Once the Senate passes its bill, the two chambers will have to reconcile the legislative differences.

NAFCU will stay engaged on Capitol Hill to ensure lawmakers are informed about the benefits the credit union tax exemption has on the nation's economy.

Preserving credit unions' tax exemption remains NAFCU's top legislative priority.