David Cicilline

What we need is for the Sacklers to face that loss, to face those families, to hear those stories, and to see the suffering that they have caused and then for them to individually pay the price.

The gentlelady yields back.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The fossil fuel companies make their billions by polluting air and water, degrading land and emitting the greenhouse gases that fuel the climate crisis.

The powerful are exploiting the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process. Bankruptcy law is complicated, but their playbook is simple.

What we are sending is a clear message to all corporations that what they can do is lie to the American people, cause mass destruction, profit off it and go home with all of their money and be protected by the bankruptcy proceedings.

To let the Sacklers get off scot-free with a few billion-dollar payment that is less than five percent on their money every single year is not just, and it is not fair.

I, myself, was a lead attorney on a case that ultimately ended up before him in bankruptcy court, and I associate myself with those of you who have suggested that he is overly solicitous of wrong-doing corporations.

Thank you, Attorney General Tong for his extraordinary leadership and being such a trailblazer in this area.

Thank you, Professor.

I want to thank Senator Elizabeth Warren for our work together to develop this important legislation.

That is why today I was proud to introduce, along with Senator Warren, Senator Durbin, Chair Maloney, and Chair Cicilline, the Non-Debtor Release Prohibition Act of 2021.

The bankruptcy system is supposed to work for everyone, but in many cases, it works only for the powerful.

Before closing, I want to recognize the leadership of Chair Nadler, who has pushed tirelessly to safeguard and advance the rights of workers, students, and consumers in the bankruptcy system.

That is why I am proud to join Chair Nadler, Chair Maloney, Senator Durbin, and Senator Warren in introducing the Non-Debtor Release Prohibition Act of 2021.

This must end. We cannot allow this complete and total misuse of the bankruptcy system to escape the reckoning that the law must provide.

Child abusers and their enablers are using the bankruptcies of the Boy Scouts of America and the Catholic dioceses to ensure that they will never have to answer for their crimes.

In recent years, massive institutions and powerful individuals have abused this process to evade accountability.

The cornerstone of our Bankruptcy Code is fairness.

Once again, the United States and its partners and allies in Europe have the opportunity to partner to advance the causes of liberty, democracy, and human rights and a future dictated not by the long reach of authoritarianism.

I think it also requires us to regulate how private companies can provide this technology to law enforcement.

Sometimes we talk about these issues in terms of public policy, and it's good to be reminded this actually impacts people's lives in a very profound way.

Thank you, Madam Chair, for calling this very important hearing.

If that information is breached, it's a lot more problematic and more concerning than if your password is breached, because you can change your password, but you can't change, for the most part, you can't change your face.

We don't allow prior restraint in this country of the press. It should not be--