Steve Rothman: “Last year, in the midst of our country's greatest economic growth of this generation, America saw a record number of…”

“Last year, in the midst of our country's greatest economic growth of this generation, America saw a record number of bankruptcies, 1.4 million. This year, as America's economic expansion continues, America will set a new record for bankruptcies. But record number of Americans are not going broke. They are simply taking advantage of a bankruptcy system that encourages people to avoid paying their debts. That is what is wrong, and we have to stop those abuses. When people who can afford to pay their debts do not, guess who picks up the tab? Working and middle class families, because companies charge higher prices to make up for those losses. We need a bankruptcy system to give truly needy Americans a fresh start. But it must be a bankruptcy system with integrity, designed to encourage personal responsibility, not to discourage it. The new bankruptcy reform bill, H.R. 3150, will do just that. It still gives people who cannot afford to pay their debts the ability to declare bankruptcy and to get a fresh start. But it will require people who can pay back their debts to do so.”