[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16950]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     FIXING BROKEN BANKRUPTCY LAWS

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, for more than 5 years Congress has been 
working to fix our Nation's broken bankruptcy laws. And now when we are 
just 1 yard from the line, one Senator's extremist views on abortion 
have placed this bill in jeopardy. I still have not found anyone who 
can explain to me what abortion has to do with bankruptcy. 
Nevertheless, there it is, right in the middle of the bill, language 
that would single out peaceful, nonviolent pro-life protesters for 
unique punishment while leaving other debtors unaffected.
  Mr. Speaker, this is completely wrong. We believe in treating people 
equally in this country, no matter what their politics, no matter what 
they believe.
  Well, no one should be surprised that this bill is now in jeopardy. 
Fifty-five of us have been on record since May saying that we could not 
support this bill if it contained the Senate's poison pill.
  Mr. Speaker, we need to fix this bill first by taking out the 
abortion language and then pass it.

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