[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 65 (Thursday, May 6, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E899]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                     BANKRUPTCY REFORM ACT OF 1999

                                 ______
                                 

                               SPEECH OF

                           HON. PATSY T. MINK

                               of hawaii

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 6, 1999

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 833) to 
     amend title 11 of the United States Code, and for further 
     purposes:

  Mrs. MINK of Hawaii. Mr. Chairman, I rise to express my opposition to 
the passage of H.R. 833, the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1999. I will vote 
`No' on final passage, not because I believe that the bankruptcy system 
doesn't need reformulation, but because H.R. 833 is an unbalanced piece 
of legislation which does not offer the flexibility to accommodate the 
diverse circumstances confronted by debtors and bankruptcy courts.
  The American Bankruptcy system was designed to give individuals who 
found themselves in insurmountable debt the chance to start over again. 
H.R. 833 threatens the promise of a fresh start by forcing the myriad 
situations debtors face into a narrow, rigid formula. The strict, 
Internal Revenue Service ``means test'' used to calculate the average 
monthly expenses for all debtors does not even account for regional 
income and cost of living differences. In my own state of Hawaii, the 
cost of living is high. This provision will unjustly penalize my 
constituents who seek bankruptcy relief because their actual, higher 
living costs will be ignored. H.R. 833's proponents consistently 
refused proposals to create a more flexible means test.
  H.R. 833 strips bankruptcy judges of the power to determine that 
exceptional circumstances exist in certain cases and adjust monthly 
expense allowances to accommodate such situations. Instead of seeking 
to find the best course of action to help debtors become solvent, H.R. 
833, as amended, allows bankruptcy trustees who transfer their clients' 
petitions from Chapter 7 to Chapter 13 to be paid for doing so. This is 
bad, lop-sided policy.
  H.R. 833 rewards credit card companies' practice of pushing easy 
credit on debt heavy clients. They are the only winners in this debate. 
The policy to force more debtors from Chapter 7 bankruptcy into Chapter 
13 bankruptcy benefits only those creditors whose debts are 
dischargeable in Chapter 7 and not under Chapter 13: Credit Card 
Companies. H.R. 833 makes credit card debt nondischargeable under 
Chapter 13 and puts these debts in the same category as child support 
and alimony payments.
  I believe that people should be held personally accountable for their 
debts. I voted Yes on the substitute bill offered by Congressman 
Nadler, which would have reformed bankruptcy provisions in a fair, 
balanced manner. I regret that Mr. Nadler's restructuring substitute 
did not pass. I voted to pass the amendment offered by the Chairman and 
Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee, Congressman Henry Hyde and 
Congressman John Conyers which created a flexible method of computing a 
debtor's monthly living expenses by providing guidelines to account for 
extenuating circumstances. This bipartisan amendment balanced a 
creditor biased bill. The Hyde-Conyers amendment also failed.
  As the bill stands, I am unable to vote for it.

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