Calling defense credit unions and CDFI-designated credit unions “woke” may make for a sharp sound bite, but it is a poor description of what these institutions actually do. At DCUC, we represent credit unions that serve servicemembers, veterans, Guard and Reserve families, Department of War civilians, and the communities that support military readiness. The question before policymakers is not whether a slogan polls well. It is whether military families and underserved communities will keep access to practical, affordable, mission-driven financial services when mainstream markets fall short. On that question, the facts are clear: these institutions are doing the work Congress asked them to do.

Start with the law. The U.S. Treasury’s CDFI Fund was created in 1994 as a bipartisan initiative to promote economic revitalization and community development. Treasury does not certify institutions because they embrace a political ideology. It certifies them because they meet statutory and regulatory tests: they must be real financing entities, have a primary mission of community development, defined target markets, provide development services, maintain accountability, and remain nongovernmental. Treasury itself describes the model as a market-based approach to expanding opportunity in distressed communities. That is not activism. That is public policy, supervision, and local accountability working together.

Now look at what defense and CDFI credit unions do in practice. Service Credit Union offers military banking tailored to the reality of frequent moves and overseas assignments, including early pay, international bill pay, relocation lending, financial counseling, and SBA-backed business finance. Keesler Federal has advanced millions in paychecks during shutdown disruptions and paired that support with foodbank giving. Marine Federal has offered payroll advancement, small-dollar relief, skip-a-pay options, and no-cost certified financial counseling. Fort Liberty Federal’s mission is straightforward: provide exceptional financial services to military and civilian members and the communities they serve. Self-Help Federal combines affordable consumer products with mortgages, credit-building, green and immigration loans, and small-business and nonprofit lending. Suncoast has paired its CDFI mission with large-scale community investment and personalized relief for members under financial strain.

The measurable outcomes matter even more than the program lists. Treasury reports that FY 2024 CDFI Program awardees financed more than 109,000 businesses, provided funding for more than 45,000 affordable housing units, and originated more than $24 billion in loans and investments. Treasury’s 2023 ACR shows that certified credit unions accounted for the largest share of target-market financial products among CDFI institution types. In plain English, credit unions are not peripheral to the CDFI story; they are central to it. Treasury’s Small Dollar Loan program also shows what efficient intervention looks like: $18 million in grants expected to support $142.8 million in affordable small-dollar lending. That is the kind of leverage any serious policymaker should want.

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Critics often say the private sector can handle this on its own. If that were true, underserved borrowers would not face the financing gaps Treasury itself documents. Treasury’s own small-business financing report says underserved business owners are disproportionately denied financing despite similar risk profiles, while large banks have tightened standards and reduced originations. That is exactly where mission-driven lenders matter. They are not replacing the market; they are serving segments the market routinely underserves. Peer-reviewed research reinforces the point. One 2025 study found that the presence of CDFIs bolsters the share of minoritized firms at the city level, including young firms. Another found that Native CDFIs’ relationship-based underwriting helps predict loan outcomes in ways conventional scoring alone does not. And financial counseling provided through that ecosystem has been shown to reduce the prospects of loan failure.

To be fair, not every federal grant decision or every public statement made anywhere in the broader community-finance ecosystem will satisfy every critic. Reasonable people can debate specific programs, specific awards, and specific language. But that is not a reason to smear defense credit unions or CDFI-designated credit unions as “woke.” The administration’s own budget fact sheet targets the CDFI Fund on ideological grounds, yet the institutions under attack are, in many cases, the same ones helping military families avoid missed rent, bridge delayed pay, refinance high-cost debt, build credit, buy homes, and keep small businesses open. If we are going to scrutinize public dollars, let’s do it with precision. What we should not do is confuse broadside politics with sound oversight.

That is why the policy response should be clear. Congress should preserve the full CDFI program portfolio and reject proposals that gut or rename the Fund while stripping away the tools that actually work. It should protect the Small Dollar Loan program, because affordable alternatives to payday-style credit are essential in military and underserved communities. It should reject backdoor efforts to drain credit unions through redundant compliance mandates that pull resources away from counseling, fee relief, and emergency lending. And it should recognize that weakening these institutions would not punish an ideology. It would punish the junior enlisted family trying to stay afloat, the veteran trying to rebuild credit, the first-time homebuyer seeking fair financing, and the entrepreneur who has already been told “no” by a conventional lender.

This should not be a partisan fight. The CDFI framework was bipartisan at its creation, and even current reporting on the political battle around it shows bipartisan concern about dismantling it. The better path is to defend what works, fix what needs fixing, and keep the focus where it belongs: on readiness, resilience, and real-world access to capital. Defense credit unions and CDFI credit unions are not asking for a culture-war exemption. They are asking policymakers to judge them by their legal mandate, their measurable outcomes, and the families and communities they serve. If we do that honestly, the verdict is simple: they are worth defending.

Jason Stverak is Chief Advocacy Officer for the Defense Credit Union Council, a role he assumed in April 2024. He previously served as Deputy Chief Advocacy Officer for Federal Government Affairs at America’s Credit Unions and was interim chief advocacy officer in 2022 and 2023. Earlier in his career, he was deputy chief of staff to Senator Kevin Cramer and held senior legislative roles in Congress and advocacy organizations. A prominent voice on Capitol Hill, Stverak is a frequent media contributor and has been recognized as a top lobbyist by The Hill and the National Institute for Lobbying and Ethics.