[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9154 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9154

   To amend titles 11 and 28 of the United States Code to modify the 
 compensation payable to trustees serving in cases under chapter 7 of 
    such title; to extend the term of certain temporary offices of 
               bankruptcy judge, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 25, 2024

Mr. Ivey (for himself, Mr. Cline, Mr. Gooden of Texas, and Mr. Johnson 
 of Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend titles 11 and 28 of the United States Code to modify the 
 compensation payable to trustees serving in cases under chapter 7 of 
    such title; to extend the term of certain temporary offices of 
               bankruptcy judge, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Bankruptcy Administration 
Improvement Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Congress has amended the laws governing bankruptcy fees 
        as necessary to ensure that the bankruptcy system remains self-
        supporting, while also fairly allocating the costs of the 
        system among those who use the system.
            (2) Because of the importance for the bankruptcy system to 
        be self-funded, at no cost to taxpayers, Congress has closely 
        monitored the funding needs of the bankruptcy system, including 
        by requiring periodic reporting by the Attorney General 
        regarding the United States Trustee System Fund.
            (3) Because the system governing bankruptcies of various 
        types is interconnected, Congress has established fees, 
        including filing fees, quarterly fees in chapter 11 cases, and 
        other fees, that together fund the courts, judges, United 
        States trustees, and trustees serving in bankruptcy cases under 
        chapter 7 of title 11 of the United States Code.
            (4) Trustees serving in bankruptcy cases under chapter 7 of 
        title 11 of the United States Code are vital to the functioning 
        of the bankruptcy system, as they provide services at the front 
        lines of the bankruptcy process, administering thousands of 
        cases.
            (5) Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustees provide valuable returns 
        of assets to government creditors including the Internal 
        Revenue Service, Department of Agriculture, Small Business 
        Administration, and other Federal, State, and municipal 
        governments.
            (6) Due to the work of the chapter 7 bankruptcy trustees, 
        millions of dollars are also disbursed annually to private 
        creditors of all types including medical providers, unsecured 
        creditors, small businesses, and micro-enterprises such as 
        domestic support providers.
            (7) Despite the essential role of chapter 7 bankruptcy 
        trustees, since 1994 the amount of compensation paid to these 
        trustees has not been increased. As in 1994, bankruptcy 
        trustees receive only $60 per case (composed of $45 from 
        subsection 330(b)(1), and $15 from subsection 330(b)(2), of 
        title 11 of the United States Code) in nearly ninety percent of 
        chapter 7 cases, and they receive no compensation at all for 
        cases in which the filing fee is waived by the Bankruptcy 
        Court.
            (8) Since 1994 there have been significant increases in 
        salaries, attorney fees, budget appropriations, filing fees, 
        and court-related fees associated with chapter 7 bankruptcies. 
        In contrast, the $60 paid to chapter 7 trustees has remained 
        the same and has not even been increased for inflation. In 
        2021, Congress attempted to implement a mechanism that would 
        give chapter 7 trustees a raise, but the trustees only received 
        increased compensation for one fiscal year. Based on CPI 
        estimates, the $60 of in 1994 would be the equivalent of over 
        $125 today.
            (9) This Act and the amendments made by this Act--
                    (A) increase the compensation of chapter 7 
                bankruptcy trustees to the level that is appropriate, 
                overdue, and proportionate with the level that was 
                intended in 1994, by increasing their total 
                compensation to $120 per case and ensuring that the 
                amount is indexed for inflation;
                    (B) ensure adequate funding of the United States 
                trustee system; and
                    (C) support the preservation of existing bankruptcy 
                judgeships that are urgently needed to handle existing 
                and anticipated increases in business and consumer 
                caseloads.
            (10) This Act will not alter the chapter 7 filing fee and 
        will not modify, impair, or supersede the current authority of 
        the district courts of the United States, or of bankruptcy 
        courts, to waive the payment of filing fees by indigent 
        individuals.

SEC. 3. TRUSTEE COMPENSATION.

    (a) Compensation of Officers.--Section 330 of title 11, United 
States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)(1) by striking ``$45'' and inserting 
        ``$105'', and
            (2) by striking subsection (e).
    (b) Remainder of Fees.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
the remainder of fees collected under section 1930(a)(1)(A) of title 
28, United States Code, after compensating trustees under section 
330(b)(1) of title 11, United States Code, shall be deposited as 
follows:
            (1) $63.51 in the Special Fund established under section 
        1931 of title 28, United States Code,
            (2) $25 in the Special Fund established in accordance with 
        section 10101(b) of Public Law 109-171, and
            (3) $51.49 in the United States Trustee Fund established 
        under Section 589a of title 28, United States Code.
    (c) United States Trustee System Fund.--Section 589a(f)(1) of title 
28, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (D) by striking ``Fourth'' and 
        inserting ``Second'',
            (2) by striking subparagraphs (B) and (C), and
            (3) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as subparagraph (B).

SEC. 4. BANKRUPTCY FEES.

    (a) Section 1930(a)(6)(B) of title 28 of the United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in clause (i) by striking ``5-year'' and inserting 
        ``10-year'', and
            (2) in clause (ii) by striking ``0.8'' and inserting 
        ``1.1''.
    (b) Section 589a(f) of title 28 of the United States Code is 
amended by striking ``2026'' each place it appears and inserting 
``2031''.

SEC. 5. EXTENSION OF TERM OF CERTAIN TEMPORARY OFFICES OF BANKRUPTCY 
              JUDGE.

    (a) Section 4 of the Bankruptcy Administration Improvement Act of 
2020 (Public Law 116-325) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(2)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A)(i) by striking ``5 years'' 
                and inserting ``10 years'', and
                    (B) in subparagraph (B)(i) by striking ``5 years'' 
                and inserting ``10 years'',
            (2) in subsection (b)(2)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A)(i) by striking ``5 years'' 
                and inserting ``10 years'',
                    (B) in subparagraph (B)(i) by striking ``5 years'' 
                and inserting ``10 years'',
                    (C) in subparagraph (C)(i) by striking ``5 years'' 
                and inserting ``10 years'',
                    (D) in subparagraph (D)(i) by striking ``5 years'' 
                and inserting ``10 years'',
                    (E) in subparagraph (E)(i) by striking ``5 years'' 
                and inserting ``10 years'', and
                    (F) in subparagraph (F)(i) by striking ``5 years'' 
                and inserting ``10 years'',
            (3) in subsection (c)(2)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A)(i) by striking ``5 years'' 
                and inserting ``10 years'', and
                    (B) in subparagraph (B)(i) by striking ``5 years'' 
                and inserting ``10 years'',
            (4) in subsection (d)(2)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A)(i) by striking ``5 years'' 
                and inserting ``10 years'', and
                    (B) in subparagraph (B)(i) by striking ``5 years'' 
                and inserting ``10 years'',
            (5) in subsection (e)(2)(A) by striking ``5 years'' and 
        inserting ``10 years'', and
            (6) in subsection (f)(2)(A) by striking ``5 years'' and 
        inserting ``10 years''.
    (b) Section 1003(b)(2)(A) of the Bankruptcy Judgeship Act of 2017 
(Pub. L. No. 115-72) is amended by striking ``5 years'' and inserting 
``10 years''.

SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION OF AMENDMENTS.

    (a) In General.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the 
amendments made by this Act shall take effect on October 1 that first 
occurs after the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (b) Exceptions.--
            (1) Compensation of officers.--The amendments made by 
        section 3 shall apply to any case under title 11 of the United 
        States Code commenced on or after October 1 that first occurs 
        after the date of the enactment of this Act--
                    (A) under chapter 7, or
                    (B) under chapter 11, 12, or 13 and converted to a 
                case chapter 7.
            (2) Bankruptcy fees.--The amendments made by section 4 
        shall apply to--
                    (A) any case pending under chapter 11 of title 11 
                of the United States Code on or after October 1 that 
                first occurs after October 1 that first occurs after 
                the date of the enactment of this Act, and
                    (B) quarterly fees payable under section 1930(a)(6) 
                of title 28 of the United States Code for disbursements 
                made in any calendar quarter that begins on or after 
                October 1 that first occurs after the date of the 
                enactment of this Act.
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