Senate to put bankruptcy legislation on back burner until Congress returns in September

Associated Press / SFGate

[RCW2001]

JESSE J. HOLLAND, Associated Press Writer
Monday, July 29, 2002
©2002 Associated Press

URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2002/07/29/national1659EDT0673.DTL

(07-29) 13:59 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) --

The Senate probably won't consider bankruptcy legislation, meant to make more Americans pay off their overwhelming debts to businesses, until September at the earliest, Democrats said Monday.

Since the bill stalled in the House, "I think it's unlikely we'll do it this week," said Ranit Schmelzer, spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D.

The Democrat-controlled Senate begins its summer vacation on Friday. The Republican-controlled House left last week, and the two chambers don't return to the Capitol until the first week of September.

Compromise legislation pushed by the banking and credit card industries for five years built up a head of steam last week as House and Senate negotiators came to an agreement on the last outstanding point of contention.

Senate Democrats wanted to ban abortion protesters from using bankruptcy to avoid paying court fines for blocking abortion clinics, while House Republicans wanted to curb or kill that provision.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill., compromised to make the law apply only to people who intentionally or knowingly violate the law.

But a group of anti-abortion House Republicans late Friday night balked at the whole provision, forcing House leaders to delay the vote. House Republicans, who control the chamber by only seven votes, need every GOP vote to pass the legislation with House Democrats against it.

The compromise legislation cannot be changed without starting the whole bill over from scratch. And Schumer said Monday Democrats were not going to move from their position.

"We've compromised as much as we can and it's up to the House now to get it done," Schumer said.

Senators have the votes to get the legislation passed on their side, with most of the Republicans and Democrats favoring the language. President Bush also has indicated that he will sign it.

"They'll be able to get it up in the House and it will pass," said Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee. "I wish it had passed Saturday, but it will pass. It will pass overwhelming in the Senate, too."

Personal bankruptcy accounts for about 97 percent of the 1.5 million bankruptcy filings between March 2001 and March 2002.

Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code allows people to escape paying any of their credit-card and other debts. Filings under Chapter 13 force people to repay debts over time in accordance with a court-approved plan.

The legislation applies a new standard in which, if a debtor has sufficient income to repay at least 25 percent of the debt over five years or earns at least the median income for his state, he or she is automatically forced into a Chapter 13 repayment plan.

Right now, a bankruptcy judge or a private attorney appointed by the Justice Department usually decides whether someone qualifies for dissolution of debts or should be forced to repay under a reorganization plan.

©2002 Associated Press  

[Tourist Guy]

>>>>compromised to make the law apply only to people who intentionally or knowingly violate the law. <<<

Uh, whatever happened to "ignorance of the law is no excuse"?????

Tons of chapter 7's this last quarter. Bet on it.

[Tourist Guy]

>>>>compromised to make the law apply only to people who intentionally or knowingly violate the law. <<<

Uh, whatever happened to "ignorance of the law is no excuse"?????

Tons of chapter 7's this last quarter. Bet on it.

[finnman69]

Basically Dashole wants to bring this back up right ebfore the elections to say "GOP supports big buisnesses that screw people"!

[RicocheT]

The Bankruptcy law changes have been pending for over five years. The House and the Senate members get huge campaign payments from those for and against the changes. By bringing up the law and almost passing it again and again, the game of extracting contributions continues. Both parties play the game. Don't expect passage of the law this year or next.