Rev. Jesse Jackson asks Congress to ban Wall Street campaign money

CHICAGO -- The Rev. Jesse Jackson called on Congress on Saturday to ban campaign contributions from major financial institutions for members of financial oversight committees.

President Bush, the Federal Reserve, the Securities Exchange Commission and congressional oversight committees are to blame for the recent financial meltdown, Jackson said in an interview.

Jackson called on oversight committee members to return campaign contributions from Wall Street lobbyists and firms, saying they can't take money from companies and industries they oversee and retain credibility as regulators.

"It's like a football team investing in referees," Jackson said. "In a close call in a tight game, how is the other team going to be confident they are getting a fair call?"

The Bush administration asked Congress on Saturday for the power to buy $700 billion in toxic assets clogging the financial system and threatening the economy as negotiations began on the largest bailout since the Great Depression. The rescue plan would give Washington broad authority to purchase bad mortgage-related assets from U.S. financial institutions for the next two years. It does not specify which institutions qualify or what, if anything, the government would get in return for the unprecedented infusion.

Jackson said any comprehensive bailout package must include provisions to keep homeowners with mortgages they can no longer afford in their homes.

"We must challenge plans that bail out the rich, yet put out the poor and put down the middle class," Jackson said. "We can't just bail out Wall Street and ignore Main Street. We must freeze foreclosures, and restructure and modify loans to protect the home equity of people defrauded and victimized by the subprime lending schemes."