[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 3, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E13]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  THE PREVENTING TERMINATION OF UTILITY SERVICES IN BANKRUPTCY ACT OF 
                                  2017

                                  _____
                                 

                         HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR.

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, January 3, 2017

  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, utility companies provide many basic and 
life-saving services, such as electricity to light our homes, water to 
drink, and gas to heat our homes. Sometimes, however, individuals, 
through no fault of their own, struggle to pay for these services often 
in the face of devastating medical debt, job loss, or economic 
disruption caused by divorce. While resorting to bankruptcy provides 
some relief from financial distress, current law permits utility 
companies to force these debtors to pay security deposits for continued 
service even if they were current on their bills before filing for 
bankruptcy or if they promise to be current on their bills after 
bankruptcy. Utility companies typically insist that debtors pay at 
least two months or more of their average bills as a deposit--in 
addition to requiring that they remain current on their utility bills 
after bankruptcy--in exchange for the utility continuing to supply 
service.
  The ``Preventing Termination of Utility Service in Bankruptcy Act of 
2017'' corrects this injustice. It provides that if the debtor remains 
current on his or her utility bills after filing for bankruptcy relief, 
the debtor should not have to pay a deposit to the utility to continue 
service.
  In Detroit, for example, families across the city have seen their 
water rates increase by 119% over the past decade. During the same 
period, the Nation generally and Detroit in particular suffered in the 
aftermath of a global financial crisis that left one-in-five local 
residences in foreclosure and sent local unemployment rates 
skyrocketing.
  Fortunately, we are incrementally recovering from the Great Recession 
of 2008. For those individuals who must seek bankruptcy relief, 
however, we should ensure that their ability to pay their utility bills 
going forward is not hindered by unnecessary demands for deposits if 
these debtors remain current on their payments to these companies.
  Terminating a family's access to such life-saving services that keeps 
the lights on, warms our homes, and ensures that they can bathe, 
hydrate, and prepare meals is simply wrong if these utility bills are 
being paid on time.
  This legislation is part of a range of solutions that are needed to 
address the still pervasive adverse impacts of the Great Recession of 
2008. I continue to work with my colleagues in Congress, state and 
federal officials, and my constituents to defend the right to water and 
protect public health. I will not tolerate the notion that--in the 21st 
Century, in the wealthiest nation on earth--families should go without 
access to affordable public water and sanitation services.