Charles E. Grassley: “If I could, and I cannot do better than the chairman has done on the explanation of this amendment, I would take just a…”

“If I could, and I cannot do better than the chairman has done on the explanation of this amendment, I would take just a little bit of time to stress a couple of points within it that I think need to be explained because these are things, at least one of them on the original amendment coming out of committee, where some concerns were expressed and probably the way they have been addressed here in the rewrite makes the final product even better than when it came out of committee because, as passed by the committee, the bill would have created a separate chapter 10 pilot program relating to the bankruptcy procedures for small business. The managers' amendment deletes those provisions. Instead, the managers' amendment will modify chapter 11 and streamline the process of small business bankruptcies. At the same time, these changes will take effect on a nationwide basis immediately upon enactment. There were concerns raised during the time that this bill came out of committee and the present about the constitutional requirement for uniformity of bankruptcy laws around the United States. Obviously, the pilot programs would not be uniform, and so we felt we had to satisfy the constitutional requirements that they be uniform, and we should particularly express our appreciation to Senator Hatch for his cooperation in working on this issue as well as Senator Heflin's efforts. The managers' amendment will also prohibit cramdowns of residential mortgages in chapter 11.”