John Kerry: “I strongly believe that reform of our bankruptcy laws is necessary. During the 105th and 106th Congress, I supported…”

“I strongly believe that reform of our bankruptcy laws is necessary. During the 105th and 106th Congress, I supported legislation to reform bankruptcy laws and end the abuse of the system. However, I am unable to support the conference report of the Bankruptcy Reform Bill because I believe it is unfair and unbalanced, was completed without appropriate consideration by the Minority party, and is unfair to many working families and single mothers. Sponsors of bankruptcy reform have justified the legislation by arguing that the bill is necessary because we are in the midst of a ``bankruptcy crisis.'' I am among those who believe that, too often, bankruptcy is used as an economic tool to avoid responsibility for unsound decisions and reckless spending. There has been a decline in the stigma of filing for bankruptcy, and appropriate changes are necessary to ensure that bankruptcy is no longer considered a lifestyle choice. However, I must point out that the current numbers show that the bankruptcy rate is lower than it was when the bill was first introduced. Indeed, if the bankruptcy reform act had been enacted into law, the sponsors would undoubtedly now be taking credit for this turnaround in the bankruptcy numbers. However, the current decline came about without Congressional intervention, demonstrating that to some degree, free-market forces work to correct any over-use of the bankruptcy system.…”