[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 23]
[Senate]
[Page 31968]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          BANKRUPTCY EXTENSION

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. 1920 
and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.
  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 (S. 1920) to extend for 6 months the period for 
     which chapter 12 of title 11 of the United States Code is 
     reenacted.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I am pleased that the Senate is passing 
legislation to extend family farmer bankruptcy protection through June 
30, 2004.
  Senator Grassley and I introduced S. 1920 to temporarily extend these 
protections that our farmers have come to rely upon for another 6 
months because Chapter 12 of the Bankruptcy Code is set to expire on 
January 1, 2004. But this is just a short term fix. We need to stop 
playing politics and permanently reauthorize the Chapter 12 family 
farmer protections.
  Too many family farmers have been left in legal limbo in bankruptcy 
courts across the country because Chapter 12 of the Bankruptcy Code is 
still a temporary measure. This is the seventh time that Congress must 
act to restore or extend basic bankruptcy safeguards for family farmers 
because Chapter 12 is still a temporary provision despite its first 
passage into law in 1986. Our family farmers do not deserve these 
lapses in bankruptcy law that could mean the difference between 
foreclosure and farming.
  In 2000 and 2001, for example, the Senate, then as now controlled by 
the other party, failed to take up a House-passed bill to retroactively 
renew Chapter 12. As a result, family farmers lost Chapter 12 
bankruptcy protection for eight months. Another lapse of Chapter 12 
lasted more than six months in the previous Congress. At the end of 
June, Chapter 12 lapsed once again.
  It is time to end this absurdity and make these bankruptcy 
protections permanent. Everyone agrees that Chapter 12 has worked. It 
is time for Congress to make Chapter 12 a permanent part of the 
Bankruptcy Code to provide a stable safety net for our Nation's family 
farmers.
  I will continue to work hard with Senator Grassley, Senator Feingold 
and others on both sides of the aisle to pass legislation that once and 
for all assures our farmers of permanent bankruptcy protection to keep 
their farms. In the meantime, we should quickly pass this legislation 
and prevent another lapse in this basic bankruptcy protection for our 
family farmers.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill 
be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon 
the table, and any statements relating to the billing be printed in the 
Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (S. 1920) was read the third time and passed, as follows:

                                S. 1920

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

     SECTION 1. SIX-MONTH EXTENSION OF PERIOD FOR WHICH CHAPTER 12 
                   OF TITLE 11, UNITED STATES CODE IS REENACTED.

       (a) Amendments.--Section 149 of title I of division C of 
     Public Law 105 09277 (11 U.S.C. 1201 note) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``January 1, 2004'' each place it appears 
     and inserting ``July 1, 2004''; and
       (2) in subsection (a)--
       (A) by striking ``June 30, 2003'' and inserting ``December 
     31, 2003''; and
       (B) by striking ``July 1, 2003'' and inserting ``January 1, 
     2004''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) 
     shall take effect on January 1, 2004.

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