Lamar Smith: “The Bankruptcy Technical Corrections Act of 2010 contains a number of useful spelling, grammatical, and other purely…”

“The Bankruptcy Technical Corrections Act of 2010 contains a number of useful spelling, grammatical, and other purely technical amendments to the Bankruptcy Code. These amendments will facilitate the work of bankruptcy lawyers and judges. When any provision of law is unclear or its text inaccurate, judges and lawyers may become confused about how Congress intends for the law to operate. Sometimes legislative inaccuracies even open the door to judicial activism. It is particularly important that the Bankruptcy Code be error free, as the number of bankruptcy filings continues to rise. Last week, economists at the National Bureau of Economic Research told us that the recession technically ended in June 2009, but the American people have not seen the end of the recession's effects. The number of bankruptcy filings by small businesses and individuals continues to increase at a rate of about 30 percent per year. The bill under consideration today adopts many amendments suggested by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. The Administrative Office suggested these changes in consultation with bankruptcy practitioners and judges. As a result, I expect this bill to yield a more user-friendly Bankruptcy Code. It is important to highlight on the record that this bill does not, and is not intended to, enact any substantive change to the Bankruptcy Code.”