In a "Dear Colleague" letter sent to all members of the House of Representatives, the Chicago area representatives wrote that the financial modernization conference report is "(n)ot a fair deal to millions of Americans" and it "(s)acrifices consumer privacy for the sake of corporate interests."

The House is scheduled to consider the financial modernization conference report this week.  Schakowsky and Gutierrez serve on the House Banking Committee, and Jackson is a member of the House Appropriations Committee.

A copy of the dear colleague is attached.

 November 1, 1999

                           S.900/H.R.10 – Financial Modernization Bill – 
                                    Not a Fair Deal for Consumers

Dear Colleague:

We write to urge you to vote NO on S. 900/H.R. 10, the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999.  Despite what you may have heard, the final bill is a bad deal for consumers, small business and communities.
 
This conference report is not a fair deal to millions of Americans because:

 It weakens CRA by giving many banks a five-year "safe harbor" from CRA examinations.
 It deletes House-passed provisions that require financial services companies to maintain a "Satisfactory" CRA rating.
 It includes onerous reporting requirements on community groups.

The conference report sacrifices consumer privacy for the sake of corporate interests by:

 giving institutions the right to share all information about consumers with their affiliates;
 failing to give consumers adequate protections from having their private records shared with third parties;
 prohibiting consumers from accessing and correcting their personal, nonpublic financial information.

We urge you to vote NO on the conference report.  Consumers, communities and small businesses deserve better than S.900/H.R. 10.

Sincerely,

_______________________   _______________________  _______________________
Jan Schakowsky   Jesse L. Jackson, Jr.                Luis V. Gutierrez
Member of Congress   Member of Congress   Member of Congress