Political Quotes

“I wish to take a few minutes to discuss a case that was argued a few weeks ago before the Supreme Court, Hall v. the United States. This case involves a specific provision that I authored which is contained in the 2005 bankruptcy reform law. Throughout the litigation in this case, my statements supporting the provision--in other words, the statements that were said here on the floor of the Senate and in committee report were discussed in these cases at length. I want to take a few minutes and walk through the history and intent of this provision so people hear it straight from this author's mouth, meaning from this Senator. At its core, the case Hall v. the United States is about statutory interpretation. The statute at issue is 11 U.S.C. (a)(2)(A), which was a farm bankruptcy provision added to the Bankruptcy Code in 2005. Before I get into the discussion about the case, I wish to explain what this particular provision does and why it needed to be added to the Bankruptcy Code. Congress enacted Chapter 12 of the Bankruptcy Code in 1986, which was subsequently made permanent in 2005. Chapter 12 allows family farmers to use a bankruptcy process to reorganize their finances and operations. It is a proven success as a leverage tool for farmers and their lenders. It helps a farmer and the banker sit down and work out alternatives for debt repayment.…”