Pub. 8 2019 Issue 4

July/August 2019 19 l e a d i n g a d v o c a t e f o r t h e b a n k i n g i n d u s t r y i n k a n s a s Thank You to Our 2019 BLOK Program Sponsors Bankers’ Bank of Kansas CalTech Central States Capital Markets, LLC FHLBank Topeka INTRUST Bank, N.A. KBA Insurance, Inc. Professional Bank Consultants, LLC Schools of Banking (Sen. Pat Roberts’ office) and Colin Brainard (Cong. Steve Watkins’ office). They outlined how diverse a typical day as a congressional staffer can be in Washington, and the many roles on congressional staff teams, ranging from policy development, to communications, to constituent services. Cottrell and Brainard also described the most rewarding and frustrating parts of being the Chief of Staff for a member of Congress and said that helping guide a piece of federal legislation from introduction to the President’s desk for signature is very rewarding for not only the member of Congress, but for his or her entire staff team. Following the Chief of Staff discussion, the group enjoyed a tour of the U.S. Capitol. Closing out Monday’s activities was a joint dinner of the Federal Affairs Committee and the class on a beautiful Potomac river-boat cruise. Part of the BLOK experience is to participate with the Federal Affairs Committee in all advocacy activities and contribute in discussions with regulators and on visits to Capitol Hill. Tuesday, the class and the committee gathered at the ABA. The group was able to hear briefings from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Small Business Administration, the Appraisal Qualifications Board, and the Financial Crimes and Enforcement Network, better known as FinCEN. The class finished their meetings for the day with a briefing at the FDIC by former FDIC Chairman and current Director Martin Gruenberg. Tuesday night concluded with the Federal Affairs Reception where all members of the Kansas delegation, as well as their staff were invited to network with Kansas bankers. On Wednesday, the final day of the trip, the group went to Capitol Hill to meet with members of our Congressional delegation. During these meetings, Kansas bankers highlighted the important legislative and regulatory challenges the financial industry is facing right now and how our members of Congress can help alleviate them. Kansas bankers thanked our members for their support of legislation like H.R. 1872 and S. 1641, Enhancing Credit Opportunities in Rural American Act (ECORA) of 2019. The group also urged our lawmakers to protect the Kansas consumers by establishing strong national data security and privacy standards and to support government sponsored entity (GSE) reform that ensures secondary-market access for banks. Overall it was a very productive week, and since the trip we have seen substantial movement on issues important to the Kansas banking industry. The American Bankers Association offered an introductory session for the BLOK Class. Class members pictured left to right are Lindsey Voss (Farmers Bank & Trust, Overland Park), Amanda Williams (Bankers’ Bank of Kansas, Wichita), Kristen Wesolowsky (Legacy Bank, Wichita) and Crissy Shumard (INTRUST Bank, N.A., Wichita). The BLOK Class had the opportunity to network with Federal Affairs Committee members. Pictured are committee member Alan Meyer (State Bank of Bern, Axtell) and BLOK member Jeremy Hacker (United Bank & Trust, Concordia) on the patio at the FDIC. The 2019 BLOK Class enjoyed a Potomac river boat cruise. Pictured are Kelli Galbrecht (second from left; CrossFirst Bank, Leawood) with husband Tom, and Amanda Williams (Bankers’ Bank of Kansas) with husband Mike. Jacob LaRue, Bank of Commerce in Chanute, had the opportunity to network with Jordan Ebert, Banking Liaison in Senator Jerry Moran’s office. Jared Brown, Impact Bank in Wellington, visited with Congressman Ron Estes (4th District) at the KBA’s reception.