Jim Sensenbrenner: “I yield by myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 256, the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention…”

“I yield by myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 256, the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005. This legislation consists of a comprehensive package of reform measures pertaining to consumer and business bankruptcy cases. The current system has created a set of incentives that encourage opportunistic personal filings and the abuse of a bankruptcy system originally intended to strike a delicate balance between debtor and creditor rights. These abuses ultimately hurt debtors as well as creditors, consumers as well as businesses, suppliers as well as purchasers. The only winners in the current bankruptcy system are those who game the system for personal gain. S. 256 restores personal responsibility and integrity to the bankruptcy system and ensures that the system is fair to both debtors and creditors. This legislation represents the most comprehensive reform of the bankruptcy system in more than 25 years. As many of us know, bankruptcy reform has been subject to exhaustive congressional review for more than a decade, beginning with the establishment of a National Bankruptcy Review Commission in 1994. It is important to note that over the course of the last four Congresses, the House has passed bankruptcy reform on eight separate occasions by overwhelming and bipartisan margins.…”