[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5757 Introduced in House (IH)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5757

To amend title 11 of the United States Code with respect to converting 
 chapter 7 cases of certain debtors who are victims of identity theft.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 11, 2006

Mr. Brown of Ohio (for himself and Mr. Schiff) introduced the following 
       bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 11 of the United States Code with respect to converting 
 chapter 7 cases of certain debtors who are victims of identity theft.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 11 OF THE UNITED STATES CODE.

    Title 11 of the United States Code is amended--
            (1) in section 101--
                    (A) by redesignating paragraph (23B) as paragraph 
                (23C), and
                    (B) by inserting after paragraph (23A) the 
                following:
            ``(23B) The term `identity theft' means a fraud committed 
        by a person other than the debtor and the debtor's spouse, by 
        using personally identifiable information of the debtor.'', and
            (2) in section 707(b) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(8) No judge, United States trustee (or bankruptcy administrator, 
if any), trustee, or other party in interest may file a motion under 
paragraph (2) if the aggregate amount of the allowed claims against the 
debtor (or in a joint case, the debtor and the debtor's spouse) that 
arose in any 12-month period in the 3-year period ending on the date of 
the commencement of the case and that resulted from identity theft 
exceeds--
            ``(A) $20,000 (or in a joint case, $40,000);
            ``(B) 50 percent of the aggregate amount of all allowed 
        claims against the debtor (or in a joint case, the debtor and 
        the debtor's spouse); or
            ``(C) 25 percent of the debtor's (or in a joint case, the 
        debtor's and such spouse's) gross income for the 12-month 
        period in which the claims resulting from identity theft 
        arose.''.

SEC. 2. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION OF AMENDMENTS.

    (a) Effective Date.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), this Act 
and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect on May 1, 2006.
    (b) Application of Amendments.--The amendments made by this Act 
shall apply only with respect to cases commenced under title 11 of the 
United States Code on or after the effective date of this Act.
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