Political Quotes

“this is not a perfect bill, the underlying bill; but I think it is an important bill to pass. It is a bill that received the overwhelming bipartisan support of this House and of the Senate last year. Last year, because this bill is almost identical, it is relevant to recognize 96 Democrats voted for this bill last year. That is bipartisan. The reason that they did so was that they recognized that the American public wants a fair system. They want people to be able to get a new fresh start. They do not want a system that lends itself to abuse. That is basically the problem that we face today. Mr. Chairman, back in 1980 there were only about 300,000 people that filed for bankruptcy. In 1998, 1.4 million people filed for bankruptcy. That is an enormous number. Something is wrong. What is wrong is that it has become too easy to wipe out your debts. What is particularly galling is that this cost does not go away. It is not just limited to the bankruptcy court. We all pay for it. The American family today pays about $400 more per year to cover the cost of these bankruptcies. That is $400 that families who are paying their bills get stuck with that they ought not to. Approximately 100,000 people file for bankruptcy each year who could in fact pay off their debt, but they are avoiding about $1 billion annually of debt that they could pay off that they do not because the system has not been fixed. That is what this bill would do. It would fix the system.”