Rep. Jackson Brings Attitude Of Activist to Banking Panel

The House Banking Committee's newest member will seem familiar to most, thanks to his famous father.

The newly elected Jesse Jackson Jr. is trying to make a name for himself, but when his voice is heard on the banking panel, his views will seem strikingly similar to those of his father.

Like his dad, the Illinois Democrat has put community activism at the top of his agenda, and bankers, no doubt, will find much in that to oppose.

Indeed, another of his mentors, Rep. Kweisi Mfume, D-Md., who is resigning this month, never apologized for making bankers squirm, and he pushed Rep. Jackson to join the panel.

"He encouraged me to go on Banking, in part because of my concerns at banks' effort to circumvent the Community Reinvestment Act," Rep. Jackson said.

If banks complain that CRA compliance rules are too burdensome, he's willing to listen. But Rep. Jackson said he's more concerned about bringing banking services to his district, which includes poverty-stricken areas south of Chicago.

"In my district I have more check cashing facilities than I do banks," he said. "I'd like to play some role in making sure those communities have access."

He concedes banks may have a point when they complain about CRA paperwork, but he calls Republican efforts to exempt small banks from reporting requirements disingenuous.

"How do you enforce compliance with the law?" he asked. "If you can develop a more efficient system, I would support it, but it should not be a way to circumvent the law."

Despite his eagerness to debate Republicans over CRA, Rep. Jackson admits the banking panel wasn't his first choice. He wanted a seat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee where he could push for federal dollars to help build an airport in his district.

The airport is planned for land that today is occupied by an abandoned shopping mall in the city of Harvey, just outside Chicago. The mall, site of a car chase in "The Blues Brothers" movie, is a blight on the community and the setting for rapes and murders. But the town is too poor even to issue bonds that would pay for the mall's demolition.

"That airport will create 236,000 direct and indirect new jobs," Rep. Jackson said.

Though he can't bring an airport home from House Banking, there will be opportunities to work for the disadvantaged. Rep. Jackson said the needs of the poor are in danger of being bypassed as technology and consolidation sweep the industry.

"Banks are expressing a lot of concerns about their ability to compete with insurance companies and securities firms," he said. "We certainly should consider the new environment."

But as Congress grapples with the growth of electronic banking and banks reduce their branches, Rep. Jackson worries that many black, Hispanic, and poor white communities will become further removed from the economic mainstream.

"Many of them don't use banks and have never used banks," he said. "If you don't open branches in their neighborhoods, they will continue to be denied bank services."

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