WASHINGTON - During Monday night's rancorous Democratic presidential debate, Vice President Gore and former Sen. Bill Bradley managed to agree on at least one thing: the Community Reinvestment Act.
"We need to enforce the Community Reinvestment Act and broaden it to apply to other financial institutions," the Vice President said.
The 1977 law requires banks and thrifts to make loans where they take deposits. Debate over the CRA held up the financial reform law enacted in November, and Congress is unlikely to expand reinvestment requirements this year.
The candidates debated in the Apollo Theater in Harlem, where Mr. Bradley said he saw "abandoned building after abandoned building
"If I am president of the United States, there will be a major investment program in Harlem and urban America," he said. "And that means the Community Reinvestment Act, and it means major investment in homeownership in Harlem and other African-American communities."
