[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 55 (Monday, May 2, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E838-E839]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




S. 256, THE BANKRUPTCY ABUSE PREVENTION AND CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT OF 
                                  2005

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. LUCILLE ROYBAL-ALLARD

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 2, 2005

  Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to S. 256, 
the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005. 
This bill would negatively affect millions of hard-working Americans, 
particularly veterans and victims of identity theft.
  The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 
is a bad bill because it favors credit card companies at the expense of 
hard-working Americans, veterans, and victims of identity theft. It 
creates a means test which would make it impossible for families to be 
protected even when they have suffered debt due to illness or 
unemployment, preventing them from being able to start over in life. 
While the bill makes it harder for these individuals to eliminate their 
debt, it unnecessarily strengthens the hands of creditors. For example, 
this bill does not guarantee that hard-working parents can make child 
support payments over credit card debt payments.
  Another concern is that this bill would leave veterans and victims of 
identity theft vulnerable to credit card companies.
  An example is our brave citizen soldiers of the National Guard and 
the Reserve who are serving our country in Iraq and Afghanistan. Having 
left their civilian jobs to serve and protect our great Nation for 
extended periods of time, many will return to face significant debt, 
because their military wages are less than their regular wages. Yet 
this bill does not spare them from the means test, leaving them 
vulnerable to credit card companies.
  Furthermore, many brave men and women return from duty with injuries 
that alter their lives, often resulting in debt. Although there are 
some exemptions, this bill still leaves some of those disabled veterans 
subject to the means test, even when their debt resulted from a 
disability acquired from their service to our country.
  I am disappointed that efforts made by my Democratic colleagues to 
better protect our veterans were rejected by the majority. The 
Republicans defeated an amendment that would have provided 
complimentary credit counseling to those veterans of our armed forces 
who found themselves with credit problems.
  Finally Mr. Speaker, in its current form, this bill leaves our 
Nation's victims of identity theft

[[Page E839]]

vulnerable to debt for which they had no responsibility.
  According to a recent survey by the Better Business Bureau, in 2004, 
9.3 million Americans were victims of identity theft. It is clear that 
every day the number of Americans at risk of suffering identity theft 
is increasing, as more and more companies disclose that criminals have 
gained access to their massive databases of sensitive consumer 
information. A perfect example is the recent reporting of identity 
theft by DWS of thousands of its customers.
  Yet this bill does nothing to address the very real problem of 
identity theft. Under this legislation, victims of identity theft 
would, in many cases, be held accountable for the debt accrued by 
someone else.
  In short, the bill favors credit card companies at the expense of 
hard-working Americans, veterans, and victims of identity theft. For 
all these reasons, I urge my colleagues to join me in opposing this 
legislation.

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