Robert Torricelli: “for 4 years, my colleague, Senator Grassley, has shown extraordinary leadership in addressing the failings of the…”

“for 4 years, my colleague, Senator Grassley, has shown extraordinary leadership in addressing the failings of the current bankruptcy system. He has enormous patience and has exhibited extraordinary leadership. I have been very proud to be his partner in this effort which now comes to a critical phase. This has not always been a popular fight. But it is certain to be a very important one. I think everyone agrees that our bankruptcy system is in need of repair. It is only over the question of how to fix the bankruptcy system that there is any issue at all. In the last Congress, efforts to pass bankruptcy reform legislation came extremely close. It failed simply in the waning days of the session. Having come so close in the 105th Congress, I inherited the role of the ranking member on the subcommittee with jurisdiction over the legislation. I felt some considerable optimism that this time we would be successful. The bill passed the floor by very wide margins. The issues had narrowed. There was an overwhelming sense that there was a need to reform bankruptcy. I think that my optimism was well placed. Since that time, I have spent countless hours working with Senator Grassley and many other Members of the Senate on both sides of the aisle dealing with very difficult issues in crafting this bill. I am very grateful to Senator Grassley.…”