John Conyers: “this measure imposes indiscriminate means tests to determine the eligibility for bankruptcy relief and the amount a…”

“this measure imposes indiscriminate means tests to determine the eligibility for bankruptcy relief and the amount a bankruptcy filer is required to pay a creditor. This test does not account for such items as child care payments, most health care costs, and the costs of caring for individuals unable to care for themselves. Further, families will be required to go through a series of means tests to justify their medical bills and other expenses. These standards are so extreme that they have been rejected by the Internal Revenue Service. So when the chairman of the subcommittee, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Gekas), says that the two themes of this bill is to give people a fresh start and then to have, number two, some accountability for those who can and should pay, this bill flunks the test right from the beginning on both counts. It does not allow for a fresh start, and the accountability is so extreme that we are using standards that even the Internal Revenue Service rejected. The proposal is highly damaging to a single mother's access to the bankruptcy system. It would treat an individual's credit card debt on the same level of obligation as there is to paying child support or alimony. So, therefore, I would argue that it does not make accountability an important consideration because, as again we see the awesome power of the creditor lobby, they have now elevated credit card obligations to the same level as those for child support or alimony.”