movement to find the most practical way of meeting the capital requirements of cooperatives which are now inadequately financed. This bank was designed from the input of farm cooperatives, consumer cooperatives, cooperatives in the fields of consumer goods, housing, health, insurance, credit, and from national and State civic leaders. Most of the credit for mobilizing this input must go to the U.S. Cooperative League. As designed, this bank would be started initially with seed capital invested in the form of preferred stock by the U.S. Government. But like the cooperative farm credit system, this capital would be replaced gradually by private capital from borrowers, as the organization gets its feet on the ground and moves ahead. Its loans would be on a sound basis. It would obtain the bulk of its loan funds from private investors, not from the Treasury. The bank would be supervised by a small independent government agency which would report to the Congress and to the public on the bank's operations and on how it meets the policy guidelines Congress establishes. This agency would also be responsible for a selfhelp development fund to be invested largely for the purpose of providing equity capital in newly formed cooperatives to serve low-income people. It also would provide the very necessary technical assistance to cooperatives such as feasibility studies, board orientation, management and financial training especially to the new and small organizations. Here is an opportunity for the Government to save billions of dollars in the future by investing, for a few years, a relatively small amount of capital in a mechanism that will enable people to help themselves rather than having them dependent on costly annual appropriations from taxpayers' hard-earned dollars in order to provide expensive, bureaucratic solutions to help solve many of their problems. This bill would provide the opportunity for individuals acting through their local cooperative to influence their own destinies. Not only would it energize local citizens into leadership roles in their cooperatives, but it would also provide the opportunity for recycling local dollars. Dollars spent in local cooperatives for consumer goods, health, housing, credit, and so forth, would stay in the local community thereby multiplying the benefits many fold. [Copy of S. 2631 and responses from the Federal Reserve Board and National Credit Union Administration follow:] 94TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2631 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES NOVEMBER 6, 1975 Mr. MCINTYRE (for himself, Mr. ABOUREZK, Mr. BAYH, Mr. BURDICK, Mr. CASE, Mr. CRANSTON, Mr. DURKIN, Mr. GRAVEL, Mr. PHILIP A. HART, Mr. GARY A. HART, Mr. HASKELL, Mr. HUMPHREY, Mr. JOHNSTON, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. McGOVERN, Mr. METCALF, Mr. MONDALE, Mr. NELSON, Mr. TUNNEY, and Mr. WILLIAMS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs A BILL To provide for consumers a further means of minimizing the impact of inflation and economic depression by narrowing the price spread between costs to the producer and the consumer of needed goods, services, facilities, and commodities through the development and funding of specialized credit sources for, and technical assistance to, self-help, not-for-profit cooperatives, and for other purposes. 1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 That this Act may be cited as the "National Consumer 4 Cooperative Bank Act". II ★(Star Print) Sec. 102. Creation and charter of bank. Sec. 104. General corporate powers. Sec. 108. Advisory committees. Sec. 201. Creation and operation of self-help development fund. Sec. 301. Organizational assistance. Sec. 302. Investigations and surveys. Sec. 303. Financial analysis and market surveys. 3 1 and the productivity of the American people has produced 2 one of the highest average standards of living in the world. 3 However, the practices that commercial and industrial enter4 prises have developed over the years have resulted in declin5 ing competition and contributed to periods of recurring 6 inflation and to increasing the gap between the producers' 7 prices and the consumers' purchasing ability. The widening 8 of this gap has been reflected in a rapidly deteriorating qual9 ity of life for some citizens below acceptable standards. 10 Congress finds that user-owned cooperatives are a proven 11 method for broadening ownership and control of the eco12 nomic organizations, increasing competition, narrowing price 13 spreads, raising the quality of goods and services, and there14 by contributing to an improved standard of living for their 15 members and patrons. Congress also finds that consumer 16 and other types of self-help cooperatives have been hampered 17 in their formation and growth by lack of access to adequate 18 cooperative credit facilities and lack of technical assistance. 19 Therefore, Congress finds a need for the establishment of a 20 National Consumer Cooperative Bank and a Cooperative 21 Bank and Assistance Administration which will make avail22 able necessary financial and technical assistance to coopera23 tive self-help endeavors as a means of strengthening the 24 Nation's economy. 4 1 TITLE I-NATIONAL CONSUMER COOPERATIVE 2 3 3 4 BANK CREATION AND CHARTER OF BANK SEC. 102. There is hereby created and chartered a body 5 corporate, the National Consumer Cooperative Bank, here6 inafter called the Bank, as an instrumentality of the United 7 States, and until otherwise provided shall be a mixed owner8 ship Government corporation. The Bank shall have perpetual 9 existence unless and until its charter is revoked or modified 10 by act of Congress. The right to revise, amend, or modify 11 the charter of the Bank is specifically and exclusively re12 served to the Congress. The principal office of the Bank 13 shall be in Washington, D.C., and, for the purpose of venue, 14 shall be considered a resident thereof. It shall make loans 15 and offer its services throughout the United States, its ter16 ritories and possessions, and in the Commonwealth of Puerto 17 Rico, and, to that end, may carry on its business through 18 such additional offices, agents, and public or private agencies 19 as it determines to be necessary, wherever located. The Bank 20 shall (1) encourage the development of new and existing cooperatives eligible for its assistance by providing specialized credit and technical assistance; (2) maintain broad-based control of the Bank by its voting stockholders; |