Pete Sessions: “I will make a few general points. This is not a harsh bill. People who make below median income can use the same…”

“I will make a few general points. This is not a harsh bill. People who make below median income can use the same bankruptcy procedures they always have. Spouses and children are going to have a tremendously better position in this bankruptcy bill vis-a-vis their alimony and child support payments than we have ever given them before. There are a lot of good things in this bill. I reject the suggestion that this is a bill written by credit card companies to meet their special interests. What we have is a bankruptcy court system that is not working well. It is being abused in a lot of different ways. I do not know how we came up with the idea to use the language--and the Senator is correct, it does say abusing the system. It could just as well as have said people who make above median income will not be guaranteed not to pay back some of their debts because, as a matter of policy, the Congress has decided that if they make above median income and can pay some of their debts back over a period of up to 5 years, if the Court so declares, then they ought to pay some of that back. I do not think that is harsh or mean. And all other debts are being wiped out. People cannot sue you, creditors cannot call on you. Your phones cannot be stopped. People can be fined if they harass you for the collection of those debts. That is not a harsh thing.”