[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 124 (Tuesday, July 23, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H7215-H7216]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1815
         HONORING AMERICAN VETERANS IN EXTREME NEED ACT OF 2019

  Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2938) to exempt from the calculation of monthly income 
certain benefits paid by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the 
Department of Defense, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2938

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Honoring American Veterans 
     in Extreme Need Act of 2019'' or the ``HAVEN Act''.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF CURRENT MONTHLY INCOME.

       Section 101(10A) of title 11, United States Code, is 
     amended by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(B)(i) includes any amount paid by any entity other than 
     the debtor (or in a joint case the debtor and the debtor's 
     spouse), on a regular basis for the household expenses of the 
     debtor or the debtor's dependents (and in a joint case the 
     debtor's spouse if not otherwise a dependent); and
       ``(ii) excludes--
       ``(I) benefits received under the Social Security Act (42 
     U.S.C. 301 et seq.);
       ``(II) payments to victims of war crimes or crimes against 
     humanity on account of their status as victims of such 
     crimes;
       ``(III) payments to victims of international terrorism or 
     domestic terrorism, as those terms are defined in section 
     2331 of title 18, on account of their status as victims of 
     such terrorism; and
       ``(IV) any monthly compensation, pension, pay, annuity, or 
     allowance paid under title

[[Page H7216]]

     10, 37, or 38 in connection with a disability, combat-related 
     injury or disability, or death of a member of the uniformed 
     services, except that any retired pay excluded under this 
     subclause shall include retired pay paid under chapter 61 of 
     title 10 only to the extent that such retired pay exceeds the 
     amount of retired pay to which the debtor would otherwise be 
     entitled if retired under any provision of title 10 other 
     than chapter 61 of that title.''.

     SEC. 3. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.

       The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 
     complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall 
     be determined by reference to the latest statement titled 
     ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this Act, 
     submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the 
     Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that such 
     statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Clay). Pursuant to the rule, the 
gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline) and the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Cline) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Rhode Island.


                             General Leave

  Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to 
include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Rhode Island?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  The overriding principle of the bankruptcy system is to give people 
who are overwhelmed with unmanageable debt a fresh start through 
meaningful financial relief.
  The Bankruptcy Code, either directly or indirectly, affects millions 
of Americans, and all types of businesses, from large to small.
  The system is supposed to work for everyone, from consumer debtors 
and small business owners, to family farmers, servicemembers, and 
veterans, and give them a new pathway to economic prosperity. But as we 
have heard during a recent oversight hearing held by the Subcommittee 
on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law, the bankruptcy system 
is not working.
  In light of these concerns, the House Judiciary Committee unanimously 
passed four bipartisan pieces of legislation to address this concern. 
These include H.R. 2938, the Honoring American Veterans in Extreme Need 
Act of 2019, or the HAVEN Act. This legislation, which has been 
championed by my colleague on the committee, Congresswoman Lucy McBath, 
addresses a fundamental unfairness in current bankruptcy law that 
affects veterans receiving disability benefits.
  Although Social Security benefits are not treated as income for 
purposes of the Bankruptcy Code's means test, veterans' disability 
benefits do constitute income under this test, even though, much like 
Social Security, these benefits are a lifeline to many of its 
recipients and are otherwise protected from seizure by creditors.
  By counting such benefits as income, many veterans become ineligible 
for the more immediate discharges available under Chapter 7 and, 
instead, they are steered into Chapter 13, which requires a debtor to 
make payments to creditors pursuant to a 3- to 5-year plan before he or 
she can receive a discharge.
  H.R. 2938 corrects this obvious inequity. It would treat certain 
veterans' disability benefits paid by the Department of Veterans 
Affairs and the Department of Defense the same as Social Security 
payments under the Bankruptcy Code's means test.
  I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense legislation, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CLINE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I speak in support of the bill, and I want to thank the gentleman 
from Rhode Island for his leadership on this issue.
  We should all honor and support America's veterans and their 
families. The HAVEN Act does that by making sure disability and death 
benefits received by veterans and their families receive special 
protection during the difficult process of bankruptcy.
  I also want to thank the gentlewoman from Georgia for her leadership 
on this issue.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from 
Georgia (Mrs. McBath), the author of the legislation.
  Mrs. McBATH. Mr. Speaker, I am so pleased to bring the HAVEN Act to a 
vote on the House floor today; and I thank Chairman Nadler, our 
subcommittee chair; Mr. Cicilline, my Republican cosponsor; Mr. Steube, 
and all the cosponsors who supported the expeditious passage of this 
bill. I want to thank the veterans and the advocates for putting their 
support behind this legislation as well.
  I introduced the HAVEN Act to support veterans facing significant 
financial hardship. No one wants to turn to bankruptcy. It is a path 
toward debt relief that carries serious financial consequences.
  But it is an important option for those with the most serious 
financial circumstances, and we must make sure our bankruptcy system is 
serving our veterans. These servicemembers deserve an opportunity to 
get back on their feet with dignity.
  Mr. CLINE. Mr. Speaker, I would simply state that the HAVEN Act makes 
the Bankruptcy Code work better and more fairly for our Nation's 
veterans and those who depend on them; so I encourage my colleagues to 
support the bill.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to pass the HAVEN 
Act, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2938, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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