[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 25, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1345-E1346]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         NATIONAL GUARD AND RESERVISTS DEBT RELIEF ACT OF 2008

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                       HON. JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 23, 2008

  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4044, 
the National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Act of 2008, a bill I am 
proud to have authored. Since September 11, 2008, more than 460,000 
Reservists and members of the National Guard have been called to active 
duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. These courageous men and women have 
selflessly left their families and their jobs to fight for our country 
on the battlefield, often with little or no notice and no time to 
prepare for the financial challenges that their deployments will 
present.
  In April 2005, the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Act made 
it harder for individuals to discharge their debts in bankruptcy. That 
legislation requires debtors who file for bankruptcy to submit to a 
means test that assesses their eligibility for bankruptcy protection. 
H.R. 4044 would exempt members of the National Guard and Reserves 
facing bankruptcy as a result of their service from that means test.
  When the changes to bankruptcy law were made, Congress understood the 
importance of exempting disabled veterans whose debts were incurred 
while they were on active duty from means testing. However, the men and 
women of the National Guard and Reserves were left out; their sacrifice 
was disregarded. That is why I introduced this legislation with my 
friend and colleague Congressman Dana Rohrabacher. Those heroes 
returning from active service in the Guard and Reserves deserve the 
same flexibility.
  H.R. 4044 allows members of the National Guard and Reservists to file 
for Chapter 7 without the added paperwork burden and obstacles of the 
means test. The bill would apply to our citizen soldiers who have 
served in the armed forces for more than 90 days since 9/11 and would 
grant them an exemption from the test for up to a year and a half after 
they return home. It also requires a Government Accountability Office 
report which will help us quantify the hardships our veterans face when 
they return home by tracking how many apply for bankruptcy protection.
  Many members of the Guard and Reserves leave for the war thinking 
they will only be deployed for 6 to 12 months and end up getting their 
tours involuntarily extended. One quarter of those soldiers have been 
deployed more than once. There is almost no way that they can 
anticipate or prepare for that extension of their service financially.
  According to the National Guard, forty percent of Reservists and 
members of the National Guard lose money when they leave their civilian 
jobs for active duty. This is especially true for servicemembers who 
own and operate small businesses who put their businesses on hold while 
they serve thousands of miles away.

[[Page E1346]]

  Now Reservists and National Guardsmen and women are coming home to a 
weak economy and record unemployment levels. Eighteen percent of 
recently separated servicemembers are currently unemployed. They are 
disproportionately feeling the pinch of record gas prices, housing 
foreclosures, and food costs.
  We have all heard from constituent servicemembers who have returned 
home to find their families in financial disarray. Many reservists took 
a pay cut from their regular jobs to serve overseas; others find that 
when they are discharged, if they can find work, they are returning 
home to lower salaries--in many instances, lower than their combat pay. 
Twenty five percent of servicemembers retuning from Iraq or Afghanistan 
earn less than $25,000 a year. Some veterans are driven to 
homelessness--the VA estimates that there are 1,500 homeless veterans 
of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  The means test has a particularly adverse impact on servicemembers. 
Most servicemembers receive higher compensation in the form of combat 
pay and have fewer expenses while serving abroad, but upon leaving 
service they face lower incomes and higher expenses. Because the means 
test factors in a person's income and expenses for the six-month period 
preceding the bankruptcy filing, a veteran's income is artificially 
inflated and expenses are inaccurately low. As a result, veterans risk 
having their chapter 7 case dismissed and being forced to file under 
the stricter chapter 13.
  The men and women of the National Guard and Reserves have risked 
their lives to protect us. If servicemembers, through no fault of their 
own, end up in bankruptcy, they deserve protection from Congress. This 
bill brings us one step closer to providing them with financial relief 
when they come home from their service.
  I would like to offer my heartfelt thanks to Chairman Conyers and 
Subcommittee Chairwoman Linda Sanchez for their commitment to and work 
on this bill and to the minority Committee Members for working with us 
to find a compromise and get this bill on the floor today. And again, I 
thank my colleague Congressman Rohrabacher, whose passion and 
persistence on this issue have made him a wonderful ally.

                          ____________________