[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 85 (Tuesday, June 19, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1148-E1149]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 H.R. 333, THE BANKRUPTCY ABUSE PREVENTION AND CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT

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                          HON. HILDA L. SOLIS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 19, 2001

  Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak about H.R. 333, the 
Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act. I had strong 
reservations about the measure, and voted in favor of every attempt to 
improve the bill during House consideration of H.R. 333.
  I voted for a Democratic alternative which would have made a number 
of technical improvements to the bill and modified some of the most 
burdensome provisions on lower income debtors. I also voted in favor of 
the motion to send the bill back to the Judiciary Committee in order to 
make improvements. This motion would have prohibited credit card 
companies from issuing credit cards to minors who cannot show 
sufficient income to repay the line of credit. Although these measures 
failed, I voted in favor of the bill in order to move the legislation 
along in the hopes that the bill would be improved when it was sent to 
the Senate.
  Unfortunately, this was not the case. The bill passed by the Senate 
maintains the House bill's onerous provision concerning the means

[[Page E1149]]

test to determine a debtor's ability to repay debts. The means test is 
inflexible and does not take into account individual family needs for 
public transportation, rent and food. The Senate bill also fails to 
ensure that child support payments will come first, ahead of the 
commercial creditors.
  I will be closely monitoring the efforts of House and Senate 
negotiators to draft a compromise bankruptcy bill. Should the resulting 
bill include the anti-consumer provisions of the House passed bill, I 
will vote against the measure when it comes back to the House and 
encourage my colleagues to do likewise.

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