Kit Bond: “I want to thank and commend Chairman Riegle and our ranking member, Senator D'Amato, for pulling together S. 1275, the…”

“I want to thank and commend Chairman Riegle and our ranking member, Senator D'Amato, for pulling together S. 1275, the Community Development, Credit Enhancement, and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1993. I support this measure, along with the managers' amendment, as a significant piece of bipartisan legislation that addresses a number of issues that are really key to the committee, issues of community development banking, small business capital formation, bank paperwork reduction, and regulatory relief. These are areas of tremendous importance to me personally, and to the people in my State. While in some cases I do not believe the bill goes far enough, it does reflect the legislative process, which requires bipartisan cooperation and compromise. I will highlight a couple of particular aspects of the legislation which I support. Subtitle A, the Community Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act, is a significant improvement over the President's initial proposal on community development banking. The subtitle recognizes the important contributions that financial institutions can provide to distressed communities by allowing banks and other entities to form 'community partnerships' with Community Development Financial Institutions, or CDFI's.”