[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 80 (Tuesday, June 4, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H5784-H5786]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BOATING AND AVIATION OPERATION SAFETY ACT OF 1996
Mr. GEKAS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 234) to amend title 11 of the United States Code to make
nondischargeable a debt for death or injury caused by the debtor's
operation of watercraft or aircraft while intoxicated, as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 234
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 ``Boating and Aviation
Operation Safety Act of 1996''.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENT.
Section 523(a)(9) of title 11, United States Code, is
amended by inserting ``, watercraft, or aircraft'' after
``motor vehicle''.
SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION OF AMENDMENT.
(a) Effective Date.--Except as provided in subsection (b),
this Act and the amendment made by section 2 shall take
effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.
(b) Application of Amendment.--The amendment made by
section 2 shall not apply with respect to cases commenced
under title 11 of the United States Code before the date of
the enactment of this Act.
[[Page H5785]]
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Pennsylvania [Mr. Gekas] and the gentleman from Rhode Island [Mr. Reed]
will each be recognized for 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Gekas].
general leave
Mr. GEKAS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 234,
the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Pennsylvania?
There was no objection.
Mr. GEKAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 234, the Boating and Aviation
Operation Safety Act and urge its adoption by the House.
Mr. Speaker, prior to 1984, it was possible in some realms in
bankruptcy to have the spectacle of a drunk driver who causes untold
adverse consequences, damages, and injuries to an innocent victim and
then we could observe a phenomenon whereby a judgment would be entered
against this drunk driver for the damage that he has caused and then to
see the drunk driver enter bankruptcy and have his whole obligation
wiped out, discharged, because of the safe haven that a bankruptcy
would accord him.
In 1984, the Congress passed legislation that would make
nondischargeable that kind of situation. That is, if that scenario were
repeated after 1984, notwithstanding the fact that a drunk driver later
would try to file for bankruptcy, even if he were accorded the
safeguards of bankruptcy, this particular obligation on drunk driving
damages that he had caused would not be discharged from bankruptcy.
Now, bringing us up to date here today, it has come to pass that
several cases have come up on watercraft drunk operation, and then the
courts became split as to whether the nondischargeability of a debt of
a drunk driver would apply to a drunk boat operator.
So we have this legislation here to clarify all of those distinctions
and controverted issues and solve the situation. In other words, this
legislation would add watercraft of any type where operated by someone
who is drunk, who causes damages, that kind of damage would not be
dischargeable in bankruptcy to accompany the same prohibition that now
exists in the law for drunk driving of land vehicles, as it were.
That is the whole purpose of the legislation. But there are some
matters that we wanted to clear up, so we will enter into a colloquy,
or after the statement of the gentleman from Rhode Island [Mr. Reed],
we will enter into a colloquy to further clarify some of these
distinctions.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. REED. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the bill. The goal of chapter 7 and
chapter 13 bankruptcy proceedings is to give the debtor a fresh start
by discharging his or her debts, either after liquidation of assets and
payments to creditors in chapter 7 or after a 3- to 5-year consumer
reorganization repayment period in chapter 13.
However, certain debts, such as alimony and child support, are
nondischargeable. The bankruptcy code already prohibits the discharge
of debt arising from the operation of a motor vehicle while
intoxicated, and there have been three reported cases interpreting this
section of the bankruptcy code. Two have held that the motor boat falls
within the meaning of motor vehicle; one held the opposite.
This bill, introduced by the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Ehlers],
would add watercraft and aircraft to the phrase motor vehicle in
section 523(a)(9).
This addition would clarify and emphasize that current law already
prohibits the discharge of debts incurred through the drunken operation
of boats and aircraft, as well as cars. H.R. 234 would eliminate
further confusion in the courts about the intended scope of this
statute.
I commend the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Ehlers] for his interest
in this issue. My home State of Rhode Island is known as the Ocean
State. We have thousands of people operating all types of watercraft
off our shores. Regrettably, in the next few weeks we will probably
have tragic incidents in which people are injured and perhaps killed by
someone who irresponsibly drank and piloted a boat.
One of the witnesses at the subcommittee hearing on this issue
testified that 25 percent of the reported boating accidents in Maryland
involved people with elevated blood alcohol levels. Clearly, this type
of dangerous and irresponsible behavior is something we must try to
discourage by all means at our disposal, and using the bankruptcy code
to do so I think is appropriate. This clarification is indeed a very
useful clarification of the code.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GEKAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from
Michigan [Mr. Ehlers].
Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the chairman of the
subcommittee not only for yielding time but also for taking this bill
up in the subcommittee and lending his support to it.
As my colleagues have heard, this bill is necessary because the
current law simply specifies motor vehicle, and that has been
interpreted in three different ways by the courts.
In 1989, there was a case in Florida in which the judge ruled that
motor vehicle included a boat or an airplane, operated respectively on
a waterway or on an airway.
In a later decision in 1993, another court held that motor vehicle
clearly was intended to apply only to an automobile and, therefore, did
not apply to watercraft or aircraft.
Once again, in 1995, there was a judgment in another court that,
indeed, motor vehicle included boats and aircraft.
So it is not only necessary to pass this particular bill to make
certain that we include aircraft and watercraft as vehicles whose
illegal operations by someone who is drunk or on drugs results in a
nondischargeable debt during bankruptcy, but it is also very important
to make this clear because the courts have ruled in different fashions
in these various cases. Therefore, I appreciate the committee taking up
the bill and giving us an opportunity to clarify this.
The bill itself is very simple. It simply makes clear that anyone who
is operating a motor vehicle, a watercraft or an aircraft illegally by
virtue of being intoxicated from using alcohol, a drug or another
substance may not hide from responsibility for damages by making this a
dischargeable debt by declaring bankruptcy. Clearly, this can be
labeled as a victims' rights bill, because this will ensure that
victims of such a drunk or drugged operator will receive adequate
compensation and they cannot be deprived of that compensation simply by
virtue of the perpetrator having declared bankruptcy.
I urge that the bill be passed, and I thank the chairman, once again,
for his diligent work on this issue.
Mr. REED. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume for
the purpose of conducting a colloquy with my colleague, the
distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Gekas], and I would ask
the gentleman if he would answer a question.
Mr. GEKAS. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman will yield, I would be happy
to.
Mr. REED. Mr. Speaker, how is watercraft to be defined?
Mr. GEKAS. A watercraft is a buoyant craft operated by a person in
the water--as an aircraft is an airborne craft operated by a person in
the air or in the act of taking off or landing.
As I have said, our intent is to protect the public from intoxicated
operators of watercraft and aircraft. It matters not whether the
watercraft is a motorboat, a personal watercraft, a barge, a canoe, a
kayak, a rowboat or whatever, or whether the aircraft is jet propelled,
or propeller driven, or a glider or a hang glider--you name it. There
is no requirement that the watercraft or aircraft be powered by an
engine. Under this legislation, it is the unlawful operation of a
watercraft or aircraft by an intoxicated operator resulting in death or
personal injury that gives rise to a nondischargeable debt.
Mr. REED. I thank the gentleman.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. GEKAS. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Michigan
[[Page H5786]]
[Mr. Ehlers] for the initiative that he displayed in bringing this
matter to the conclusion that it has found today, and I ask the Members
to extend their support to the current legislation.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 234, the
Boating and Aviation Safety Act. The bill amends Federal bankruptcy law
to ensure financial responsibility for individuals who cause deaths or
injuries by operation of a boat or aircraft while under the influence
of drugs or alcohol. Specifically, the measure prohibits bankruptcy
courts from discharging an individual's debts for wrongful death or
injuries if caused by the individual's operation of a motor vehicle,
boat, or aircraft while intoxicated.
This legislation is extremely important to residents of my district,
many of whom live on the shoreline of the Long Island Sound. Boating
accidents are an unfortunate reality on a highly active waterway. As
the summer boating season begins, it is essential to provide the
victims of preventable boating accidents the same recourse for reckless
piloting of boats on our waters as any victim of a accident in a car.
This important legislation would extend the bankruptcy law that
pertains to operators of motor vehicles to operators of boats and
aircraft. This is a matter of fairness.
While some bankruptcy courts have used a broad interpretation of the
motor vehicle to include operators of aircraft and boats in cases of
injury or death to others due to intoxication, some have not. In order
to ensure justice to the victims of boating accidents and their
families we must pass this measure today.
We must send a strong message to boat operators: If you drink and
operate a boat you are going to face the same harsh punishment that you
would if you drink and drive. I strongly support this bill and urge its
immediate adoption.
Mr. GEKAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Gekas] that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 234, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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