[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 132 (Monday, October 4, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H9253]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1445
        EXTENDING CHAPTER 12 OF THE BANKRUPTCY CODE FOR 9 MONTHS

  Mr. GEKAS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
Senate bill (S. 1606) to extend for 9 additional months the period for 
which chapter 2 of title 11, United States Code, is reenacted.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                S. 1606

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

     SECTION 1. AMENDMENTS.

       Section 149 of title I of division C of Public Law 105-277, 
     as amended by Public Law 106-5, is amended--
       (1) by striking ``October 1, 1999'' each place it appears 
     and inserting ``July 1, 2000''; and
       (2) in subsection (a)--
       (A) by striking ``March 31, 1999'' and inserting 
     ``September 30, 1999''; and
       (B) by striking ``April 1, 1999'' and inserting ``October 
     1, 1999''.

     SEC. 2. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       The amendments made by section 1 shall take effect on 
     October 1, 1999.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Miller of Florida). Pursuant to the 
rule, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Gekas) and the gentlewoman 
from Wisconsin (Ms. Baldwin) each will control 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 within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on the Senate bill, S. 1606.
  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, the record is complete on the necessity for the passage 
of this bill because only last week we gave the rationale for the need 
for quick action on this piece of legislation.
  On October 1, the authority for family farmers to file for bankruptcy 
under Chapter 12, a separate and unique set of provisions to 
accommodate the special and unique needs of farmers in distress, ran 
out of authority.
  It had been extended over a period of time in temporary chunks of 
time because, in reality, the bankruptcy reform movement has 
encompassed Chapter 12, the special provisions, and included in them a 
comprehensive bankruptcy reform in which this special set of 
provisions, as I have stated, will become permanent. We would not have 
to ever return to the well of the House to seek an extension of these 
benefits.
  Now, we are in a position where the Senate acted in a little 
different way from the way we had on the number of months of extension. 
The current form, the one that is before us now, the Senate version 
extends that period from October 1 for 9 months. That is why we are 
here.
  The bill that we passed was less than 9 months. The Senate made it 9 
months. We will concur in the Senate amendment and, thus, ask for 
passage of this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, it feels like deja vu all over again. Just 1 week ago, I 
was on the floor reluctantly supporting a 3-month extension of the 
Chapter 12 bankruptcy title for family farmers. I did not particularly 
like last week's bill because it would have allowed Chapter 12 to 
expire so soon, on January 1, the year 2000.
  I knew that Congress would have to come back again this session 
before we adjourned for the year to ensure that the bankruptcy 
protection in the form of Chapter 12 was continued. But I supported it 
because, otherwise, Chapter 12 would have expired on October 1, last 
Friday.
  Well, guess what? Chapter 12 did expire last Friday. That means that, 
if a family farmer in my State of Wisconsin or, for that matter, 
anywhere in the United States needs the protection of Chapter 12 today, 
they do not have it. The law has expired.
  The other body realized that a 3-month extension that this House 
approved was not prudent and passed a 9-month extension that we have 
before us today.
  So once again, I come to the floor wishing we were doing a little 
more to provide a safety net for our family farmers. While this bill 
provides a 9-month extension of Chapter 12 bankruptcy protection for 
family farmers, it still does not give our family farmers a permanent 
law on which they can rely to protect their farm in the most dire 
economic circumstances.
  I ask the Republican leadership to stop holding family farmers 
hostage to negotiations with the other body on other matters. The 
family farmers I represent need the help of this Congress more than the 
bankers and the credit card corporations on whose behalf we delay 
making Chapter 12 a permanent part of our Federal code.
  Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  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 Senate bill, S. 1606.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the Senate bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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