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Murkowski Applauds Passage of Senate Bankruptcy Reform Bill

Date: March 10, 2005
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Finance and Banking


MURKOWSKI APPLAUDS PASSAGE OF SENATE BANKRUPTCY REFORM BILL

Saying that economic losses from bankruptcy force everyone to pay more, Senator Lisa Murkowski applauded final passage tonight of major bankruptcy reform legislation that has been in Congress for several years.

"Once again, we have succeeded early in this legislative year with a significant achievement - passage of a bill that makes necessary reforms to our legal systems and incorporates new protections and advantages of the law for fishermen which will be particularly beneficial to Alaska's communities," Sen. Murkowski said.

By a vote of 74-25, the Senate tonight approved the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (S.256). The bill reforms the bankruptcy system to require repayment of debts by individuals who have the ability to pay them, while protecting the right of debtors to a financial fresh start. It strengthens protections for child support and alimony payments by giving family support obligations a higher priority in bankruptcy.

Of special concern to America's farmers and fishermen, the bill makes permanent special protections in Chapter 12 for family farmers for the first time ever and expands Chapter 12 to family fishermen.

• It gives farmers more flexibility with respect to how certain creditors can be repaid, • It provides much-needed capital gains tax relief for family farmers in Chapter 12, • The bill more than doubles the debt eligibility limit for Chapter 12 so that more farmers can qualify for special protections and; • It ensures that Chapter 12 protections are viable in the future by indexing the eligibility requirement to inflation.

"This effort to help Alaska fishermen has been ongoing for many years. Just as we were able to help fishermen qualify for other traditionally farm-based programs like Trade Adjustment Assistance and income averaging last year, I am pleased that we have accomplished another significant item for our fishermen," Sen. Murkowski said.

http://murkowski.senate.gov/pressapp/record.cfm?id=233361

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