Congressional Record, Volume 158 Issue 57 (Thursday, April 19, 2012)

[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 57 (Thursday, April 19, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2556-S2557]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

TEMPORARY BANKRUPTCY JUDGESHIPS EXTENSION ACT OF 2011

Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary Committee be
discharged from further consideration of H.R. 1021.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk
will report the bill by title.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

A bill (H.R. 1021) to prevent the termination of the
temporary office of bankruptcy judges in certain judicial
districts.

There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I congratulate Senator Coons on the passage
of legislation that will reauthorize 30 temporary bankruptcy judgeships
in districts around the country. I was pleased to support Senator
Coons' very strong and persistent efforts on this important
legislation. The Judiciary Committee reported this legislation
favorably on December 15, 2011. I am glad to see the Senate finally
being allowed to act.
The bill we pass today, when enacted, will reauthorize 30 temporary
judgeships in 14 States and Puerto Rico. All of these positions have
already expired, and without this legislation, upon retirement or
departure of the judges in these positions, they could not be filled
again. Needlessly reducing the resources of our bankruptcy courts does
nothing but put more pressure on Americans who are already navigating a
difficult economic environment. This legislation should help avoid that
and provide some small degree of relief to overburdened bankruptcy
courts around the country. Quite frankly, I think we should be doing
more.
As Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, I will note one concern with
the legislation the Senate passes today. In order to secure passage of
this legislation, Senator Coburn insisted upon adding a section to the
bill that purports to tell future Senate and House Judiciary Committees
how to conduct their business. Senator Coburn's amendment would dictate
that before any of these 30 judgeships could be reauthorized again, the
Senate and House Judiciary Committee's would be required to take
certain steps and require a report from the Administrative Office of
the United States Courts (AO). As a member of the Judiciary Committee,
Senator Coburn knows this is precisely what committees do in the
ordinary course of the consideration of legislation, and what was done
during the development of this legislation. Senator Coons worked with
the AO, which made recommendations, and with bankruptcy judges in a
variety of districts to determine where need was greatest. To codify an
unenforceable mandate nominally imposed on future Congresses is
unnecessary and unwise.
I thank and congratulate Senator Coons for his hard work and
attention to this issue. This would not be passing without his
diligence, focus, and legislative skill. He has done what has seemed
impossible.
Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that a Coons amendment, which is at
the desk, be agreed to, the bill as amended be read a third time and
passed, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no
intervening action or debate, and any statements related to the bill be
printed in the Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment (No. 2084) was agreed to, as follows:

AMENDMENT NO. 2084

(Purpose: To address bankruptcy filing fee increases, future
reauthorizations, and for other purposes)

Strike section 3 and insert the following:

SEC. 3. BANKRUPTCY FILING FEE INCREASE.

(a) Bankruptcy Filing Fees.--Section 1930(a)(3) of title
28, United States Code, is amended by striking ``$1,000'' and
inserting ``$1,167''.
(b) United States Trustee System Fund.--Section 589a(b)(2)
of title 28, United States Code, is amended by striking
``55'' and inserting ``48.89''.
(c) Collection and Deposit of Miscellaneous Bankruptcy
Fees.--Section 406(b) of the Judiciary Appropriations Act,
1990 (28 U.S.C. 1931 note) is amended by striking ``25'' and
inserting ``33.33''.
(d) Paygo Offset Expenditure Limitation.--$42 of the
incremental amounts collected by reason of the enactment of
subsection (a) shall be deposited in a special fund in the
Treasury to be established after the date of enactment of
this Act. Such amounts shall be available for the purposes
specified in section 1931(a) of title 28, United States Code,
but only to the extent specifically appropriated by an Act of
Congress enacted after the date of enactment of this Act.
(e) Effective Date.--This section and the amendments made
by this section shall take effect 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. SUBSEQUENT REAUTHORIZATION.

Prior to further reauthorization of any judgeship
authorized by this Act, the Committee on the Judiciary of the
Senate and House of Representatives shall conduct a review of
the bankruptcy judgeships authorized by this Act to determine
the need, if any, for continued reauthorization of each
judgeship, to evaluate any changes in all bankruptcy case
filings and their effect, if any, on filing fee revenue, and
to require the Administrative Office of the Courts to submit
a report to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and
House of Representatives on bankruptcy case workload,
bankruptcy judgeship costs, and filing fee revenue.

The amendment was ordered to be engrossed and the bill to be read a
third time.

[[Page S2557]]

The bill (H.R. 1021), as amended, was read the third time and passed,
as follows:

H.R. 1021

Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives
(H.R. 1021) entitled ``An Act to prevent the termination of
the temporary office of bankruptcy judges in certain judicial
districts.'', do pass with the following amendment:
Strike section 3 and insert the following:

SEC. 3. BANKRUPTCY FILING FEE INCREASE.

SEC. 4. SUBSEQUENT REAUTHORIZATION.

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