Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS -- (Senate - June 25, 2008)

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BY Mr. DURBIN:

S. 3197. A bill to amend title 11, United States Code, to exempt for a limited period, from the application of the means-test presumption of abuse under chapter 7, qualifying members of reserve components of the Armed Forces and members of the National Guard who, after September 11, 2001, are called to active duty or to perform a homeland defense activity for not less than 90 days; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, when our National Guard and Reserve members return from active duty, the last thing they should have to worry about is struggling to catch up on the bills. Sadly, acute financial challenges are often exactly what greet our bravest men and women when they come home.

For those families who are struggling to make ends meet after serving our country, today I am introducing a bill, the National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Act, that would give these families a little breathing room. My bill would waive the means test for entering into Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection for National Guard and Reserve members who have served since September 11, 2001. The bill would give these families a little more time to reorganize their finances so that they can get their lives back in order after serving.

The 2005 Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act changed the U.S. bankruptcy code to make it significantly harder for individuals to receive protection from their creditors via bankruptcy, by requiring filers to pass a means test based on an individual's income and expenses for the 6 month period preceding a bankruptcy filing.

My bill would exempt returning Guard and Reserve members from this means test, both because our finest men and women deserve greater financial protection and because they are uniquely disadvantaged by the means test criteria. Despite receiving much-deserved active duty pay for their service, National Guard and Reserve members often take a pay cut when they leave their jobs for a deployment. But because the means test includes the past 6 months of income in its calculation, men and women with little current income may not qualify for bankruptcy protection.

This is an issue that will become increasingly important in my home state of Illinois. The Illinois National Guard is preparing for the largest deployment of soldiers since World War II, with more than 2,700 currently training for deployment to Afghanistan. For the men and women in this group who find themselves in unfortunate financial circumstances when they return home, particularly if our economy continues to slow, this bill would help by allowing these men and women to file for bankruptcy if they desperately need that help.

I am pleased that the House version of this legislation, championed by my good friend Representative JAN SCHAKOWSKY, passed the House by voice vote earlier this week. I urge my Senate colleagues to support this bill just as strongly.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the RECORD.

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