S.818 - THE NATIVE AMERICAN FINANCIAL SERVICES ORGANIZATION ACT OF 1997

Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, today I introduce the Native American Financial Services Organization Act of 1996 [NAFSO]. This bill, based on a similar measure I introduced in the last Congress, seeks to provide new opportunity and hope for native American families by addressing the serious lack of private capital on Indian reservations.

Having access to banking services is more than just a convenience. It means being able to get a loan to fix a leaky roof. It means getting the money to buy computers to start a small business. It means having enough money to send your son or daughter to college. It means buying your own home.

Too often, these dreams never become a reality for Indian families. Many opportunities and services most of America takes for granted are not available in Indian country. Native Americans can't simply walk into a local bank to open a checking account or get a loan for a new house because for the most part, these institutions are nowhere near Indian reservations.

NAFSO is not about new Government programs or bureaucracy. NAFSO is about supporting private banks that will not only provide basic services, but take the time to educate people, to bring them into the mainstream of financial services and give them a chance to build a home or start a business.

NAFSO gives native Americans the same kind of access to banking services that other Americans enjoy. By eliminating provisions dealing with the secondary mortgage market, this version of NAFSO allows the organization to focus where the rubber meets the road. Working in conjunction with the community development financial institutions fund, NAFSO's primary role is to expand the availability of basic banking services through the creation and support of Native American Financial Institutions [NAFI's]. This provides the services that families need the most-checking accounts, mortgages, and other basic banking services.

NAFSO will also play a crucial role in assisting NAFI's by providing them with much-needed technical assistance and developing specialized assistance to overcome barriers to lending on reservations. The organization will also work with the secondary market and other important financial mechanisms to identify barriers to private lending and make recommendations about how banks, Tribes, and government can do more to help this process.

NAFSO does more than support new lending institutions or existing Indian-oriented banks and begins to address the historical barriers to private banking in Indian country. The trust status of reservation land and the inability to transfer title are serious concerns of bankers that need to be overcome and understood. Equally as challenging is the need to overcome stereotypes about Indian families and their social or economic condition.

Often, banks decide Indians are not a good credit risk without ever having gone to the reservation.

By providing information and interested in becoming more involved in Indian country, NAFSO can foster a new understanding of the real challenges we face. It can eliminate some of these misconceptions and myths and bring the private market and Indian communities together in ways never thought possible before.

I had hoped that we would be assisted in this process by a report by the community development financial institutions fund at the Department of Treasury on Indian banking issues. Regrettably, work on that report, which was due almost 9 months ago, has not yet begun. Nevertheless, I feel that we should not delay our work. We need to concentrate now on finding real solutions to the economic, social and cultural challenges facing tribes and native American families.

Mr. President, most people agree that Government cannot be the solution to all of this great Nation's problems. We can fix the Government programs, we can make them more efficient, but now we need to get the private sector involved in the challenges facing Indian country. The road to economic independence for all native American communities is a long one, but this bill is a big step in the right direction.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the RECORD.