Chris Dodd: “Taking the Bankruptcy Act goes back to the earliest days of our Republic. Article I, section 8 of the U.S. Constitution…”

“Taking the Bankruptcy Act goes back to the earliest days of our Republic. Article I, section 8 of the U.S. Constitution mandates that Congress pass laws dealing with bankruptcy. I believe our Founders did so because they realized there was inherent, fundamental value to allowing people who find themselves under difficult circumstances to be able to get out from underneath those circumstances, to discharge their responsibilities to the best extent possible, and then to get back on their feet again. That is a social value from which all Americans benefit. Now, will there be people who should have been far more responsible? Absolutely. But I happen to believe that the overwhelming majority of people who are forced to file for bankruptcy do so most reluctantly, only because there are no other avenues available to them which they can deal with their problems. We have with a responsibility, to remember what our Founders envisioned in article I, section 8, which calls upon Congress to pass bankruptcy legislation.”