Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005
BANKRUPTCY ABUSE PREVENTION AND CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT OF 2005
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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Massachusetts for his leadership on this legislation. The bill we are considering today, S. 256, is the bankruptcy reform bill. For American families who have been absolutely devastated by medical bills, by loss of jobs from outsourcing of jobs overseas, by family circumstances beyond their control, this bill makes it more difficult to go to bankruptcy court to put whatever they have on the table and to try to start anew. It was written by the financial industry, by credit card companies, and big banks in an effort to make certain that people in debt never get out of debt. They want to make certain that debt will hound you and trail you for a lifetime.
When Senator Kennedy offers an amendment and says should we not at least say to people who have been devastated by a medical crisis in their family and go through bankruptcy that they will have a roof over their heads, that we will protect their home for $150,000 worth of value, the Republicans on this side of the aisle said no. They should put that home up, lose it if necessary, if they want to file for bankruptcy.
I offered an amendment that said what about the Guard and Reserve units, men and women who are serving overseas leaving behind businesses that go bankrupt? Should we not give them some consideration in this bill? Should not the harshest aspects of this bill not apply to men and women in uniform serving our country? The Republican side of the aisle said no; apply the law as harshly as possible to these soldiers as you would to everyone else.
Time and again, as we have offered amendments to try to stand up for those who were struggling in America to get by in a tough economy, in difficult times, facing family disasters, the Republican side of the aisle said it is more important that the credit card companies get another dollar from those families. It is more important that the banks prevail. Even if the loans they offered in the first place are illegal, we have to stand by the credit industry.
The credit industry will win this battle. American families, American soldiers, and those struggling with medical bills will be the losers.
I hope before this bill is completed that a few basic amendments that show common decency and common sense will prevail.
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