Hello all: Now that Congress is in recess, this ia an ideal time to talk with your Senators and Representatives about protecting and moderning the Community Reinvestment Act, in order to strengthen reinvestment efforts in impoverished U.S. communities. Here are some good pointers from the Center for Community Change, including contact information if you want to learn more. This is an important time for folks concerned about economic justice. With best wishes for the spring holidays, Maryellen Lewis Program Leader/Community Capital MSU Center for Urban Affairs ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Center for Community Change Policy Alert #150 March 29, 1999 [excerpt]

CONGRESS RECESSES - CATCH YOUR SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVE AT HOME ON CRA BACKGROUND: The House and Senate are both in recess for the next two weeks (until April 12). That makes this the perfect time to talk to members of Congress about CRA and "financial modernization" while they're at home. Senate: The Senate Banking Committee approved a "financial modernization" bill on March 4. That bill not only fails to expand CRA or to include the modest CRA-related provisions that are in the House bill, it contains two direct attacks on CRA. One is an exemption from CRA for rural banks with assets under $100 million (63% of the industry). The other is a "safe harbor" from CRA-related comments on applications filed by banks with satisfactory or better CRA ratings (97-98% of the industry). The bill passed the committee 11-9, with all of the Republicans voting for it, and all of the Democrats voting against it. The next step for the bill in the Senate is a vote by the full Senate. Sen. Gramm (R-TX), chairman of the Banking Committee, has secured an agreement from Majority Leader Lott to bring the "financial modernization" bill up for a vote on the Senate floor the first or second week of May. Gramm has also been whipping up industry group lobbyists to support his bill, and has specifically warned them off of trying to negotiate any compromises on the CRA-related provisions. Last week, the American Bankers Association sent a letter to every member of the Senate, stating their support for the Gramm bill, and specifically supporting the anti-CRA provisions. Senators need to hear from constituents that they should vote against the Gramm bill. Tell your Senator how important CRA has been in your state, and how harmful these provisions would be if they were enacted into law. It is especially important to get the message out to Senators from states with lots of small banks - the South, Midwest, Plains states, and Southwest. If you need help with talking points on the safe harbor or small bank exemption, let us know. Also urge your Senator to vote against any bill that fails to modernize CRA to keep up with the "modernization" of the financial services industry. HOUSE: The House Banking Committee voted out a "financial modernization" bill on March 11. H.R. 10 was adopted 51-8, with strong bi-partisan support. The bill contains some modest provisions to support CRA, but fails to take the necessary steps to modernize CRA to keep pace with the huge changes it makes in the financial services system. The next step for H.R. 10 in the House is the Commerce Committee, which also has jurisdiction over the bill. That Committee has been given until May 14 to consider the bill and make any changes. Hopefully, some members on that Committee will offer amendments to expand CRA to securities and insurance companies, and/or to require HMDA-like disclosures for insurance companies that want to affiliate with banks. Members of the Commerce Committee need to hear from their constituents about the importance of CRA in their districts, and the need to modernize the law to keep pace with the modernization of the financial services industry. Remember that they don't usually deal with CRA, and may not be all that familiar with what it does or how it works. If you can, get them to come out to your community to see the impact that CRA has had. Urge them to support amendments along the lines of those described above, and to oppose any bill that doesn't include such provisions. If you talk to a member of the Commerce Committee who expresses interest in sponsoring such amendments, we will be happy to work with you on details. MATERIALS AVAILABLE: CCC has a side-by-side comparison of the key CRA-related provisions in the House and Senate bills, which includes a brief description of some of the important financial modernization issues. We also have a tally sheet showing how members of the House Banking Committee voted on key CRA-related amendments that were considered by that Committee. These documents are included in the fax version of this Alert. They are attached as Word files for those of you who receive the Alert by e-mail, and they are available both on our website (www.communitychange.org) and through our fax on demand system. Call 800-937-1093 and request doc. # 1150 for the comparison, and doc. #1149 for the tally sheet.
> > FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Debby Goldberg at CCC's Neighborhood Revitalization Project, 202/342-0567 or goldbergd@commchange.org.

************************************************ Maryellen J. Lewis Program Leader/Community Capital MSU Center for Urban Affairs 1801 W. Main Street Lansing MI 48915-1097 USA ph: 517-353-9555 fax 517-484-0068 e-mail: lewisma9@pilot.msu.edu ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Lou Gerstner ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^