Asa Hutchinson: “I rise in support of S. 420, the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2001, and I commend Senators Grassley, Hatch, and Sessions for…”

“I rise in support of S. 420, the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2001, and I commend Senators Grassley, Hatch, and Sessions for their hard work, dedication, and perseverence. As a result of their efforts, a sense of balance and fairness has been restored to our legal system and American consumers and businesses will both benefit. This bill is long overdue as over the past decade there has been an explosion in the number of bankruptcy filings. Last year, there were 1.25 million total bankruptcy filings in America, in 1990, a mere ten years earlier, there were 782,960 filings. In Arkansas, there were 7,062 filings in 1990 and 16,784 in 2000. This explosion is due in no small part to the current Bankruptcy Code's generous, no questions asked policy of providing complete debt forgiveness under Chapter 7 without seriously considering whether a person filing bankruptcy can repay some or all of those debts. Furthermore, the United States economy loses $40 billion annually as a result of bankruptcy filings and the U.S. Department of Justice estimates that creditors lose $3.22 billion every year because of bankruptcies filed by persons who could repay their debts. These losses are passed on to all consumers--including, and especially, those who responsibly pay at least part of their debts but choose not use the bankruptcy code to escape them.”