[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 105 (Tuesday, June 24, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1327]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         NATIONAL GUARD AND RESERVISTS DEBT RELIEF ACT OF 2008

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                               speech of

                          HON. JERROLD NADLER

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 23, 2008

  Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I rise it support of this legislation 
which is a simple measure the House can take to help protect our troops 
from undue financial hardship. We constantly receive stern lectures 
about the importance of supporting the troops. But supporting the 
troops is more than just wearing a flag pin, or sticking a yellow 
ribbon on your car, or impugning the patriotism of your political 
opponents.
  Supporting the troops should entail some real benefit for those 
troops when they need our help. As President Lincoln put it so well, to 
``care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and 
his orphan.'' Perhaps taking proper care of the wounded at Walter Reed 
Army Medical Center, or providing them with suitable armor, or 
providing them with assistance after they return home would be a good 
place to start.
  Here we have the opportunity to help a small number of veterans, 
estimated at 2,000 to 2,500, by lifting what amounts to a costly and 
burdensome paperwork burden. According to the Republican witness in the 
Judiciary Committee, this bill is ``targeted, specific, and quite 
modest.''
  Will it allow these veterans to commit fraud? No. Creditors, the 
courts, the trustees, and the Department of Justice have ample tools at 
their disposal to deal with anyone trying to game the system. The case 
can still be dismissed for abuse based on the totality of the 
circumstances, the court can still deny or revoke the debtor's 
discharge of debts, the military could revoke the debtor's security 
clearance, and the criminal code provides for fines and imprisonment of 
up to five years.
  The means test is not stopping fraud. The Bush Justice Department, 
which administers it, has reported that less than half a percent of all 
cases are dismissed based on the means test.
  The form used to implement the means test has 57 separate sections. 
It takes a pro se debtor approximately 10 to 12 hours, and it rivals 
IRS form 1040 in complexity. I challenge my colleagues to fill it out.
  So today members have real choice. You can vote to support the troops 
or you can vote to support the big banks. It is a pretty clear choice. 
I urge my colleagues to support the troops.

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