Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise to reluctantly offer my support for H.R. 5472, the Family Farmer Protection Act of 2002. I say "reluctantly" because the legislation before us today is an incomplete solution to a problem that has existed for more than 5 years. In 1997, Mr. Speaker, the National Bankruptcy Review Commission recommended that chapter 12 of the Federal Bankruptcy Code, the chapter which contains bankruptcy protections for family farmers, be made permanent. The bill we are considering today marks the sixth time we are ignoring that 1997 recommendation and are instead extending chapter 12 on a temporary basis. It does not make sense. Chapter 12 is by no means a controversial issue. It was enacted in 1986 as a temporary measure to allow family farmers to repay their debts according to a plan under court supervision. Chapter 12 prevents the situation from occurring where a few bad crop years results in the loss of the family farm. In the absence of chapter 12, family farmers are forced to file for bankruptcy relief under the bankruptcy code's other alternatives, none of which work quite as well for farmers as chapter 12 does.”