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NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger's letter to House and Senate leaders on Thursday exposing merchants' ploy behind their request for a delay in the EMV liability shift coming in October was highlighted in The Wall Street Journal.

WSJ noted that Berger, in his letters, urged lawmakers to support "strong data safekeeping standards" for merchants and retailers.

Berger called the request to delay implementation of EMV from the Food Marketing Institute "smoke and mirrors." He urged Congress not to be taken in by retailer groups' "unscrupulous tactics and falsehoods."

FMI's request is "remarkable," he wrote, given the growing number of merchant data breaches and lawmakers' and regulators' intense interest in this issue. He also reiterated findings of a NAFCU Economic & CU Monitor survey showing credit unions spent, on average, $226,000 and 1,600 hours last year on debit and credit card fraud issues arising from retailer data breaches.

NAFCU was the first financial trade organization to call for national data security standards for retailers in the wake of the massive Target breach. It continues to push for legislative action.

Berger made his comments in letters to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. His comments were also picked up by The Huffington Post,CU Times and Digital Journal.