Hearing of the House Judiciary Committee - Opening Statement of Rep. Bob Goodlatte, Markup of H.R. 2266, the Bankruptcy Judgeship Act of 2017

Hearing

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) delivered the following remarks during the markup of H.R. 2266, the Bankruptcy Judgeship Act of 2017.

Chairman Goodlatte: A well-functioning bankruptcy system is an essential element of our economy, providing relief to consumers and allowing businesses to reorganize, preserve jobs and maximize the value of assets. A strained bankruptcy judiciary will slow that system down and undermine the essential benefits it provides.

There are presently twenty-nine temporary bankruptcy judgeships in the bankruptcy system with a lapse date of May 25, 2017. These temporary judgeships comprise more than eight percent of the current bankruptcy judgeships nationwide. After May 25th, these judgeships are at risk of being permanently lost, resulting in larger caseloads shared by fewer judges and causing further strain on our judiciary system.

The Bankruptcy Judgeship Act of 2017 converts 14 of the existing temporary judgeships to permanent status and creates four new permanent bankruptcy judgeships in districts with some of the highest caseloads in the country. In fact, since the enactment of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act in 2005, when a majority of the temporary judgeships were created, these districts have seen weighted filings increase by more than 55 percent.

This bill is based on a comprehensive study of judicial resource needs conducted by the Judicial Conference and is supported by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. The Conference has assured us that its request comes only after it has taken steps to maximize all other alternatives to reduce judicial workloads. Moreover, the Conference has demonstrated that, while a district may have a permanent judgeship, it will not be filled unless completely necessary.

Importantly, this bill will not present any new costs for the taxpayers. The Bankruptcy Judgeship Act includes an increase in the quarterly U.S. Trustee fees for large chapter 11 debtors, excluding small businesses. This fee increase is directly tied to the balance of the United States Trustee System Fund and will only be applied when the balance of the fund falls below a $200 million threshold.

These "temporary" bankruptcy judgeships were first set to lapse in 2010. They have been extended for over 12 years. Despite this Committee's previous efforts to address the issue, to date there have been only limited, short-term fixes. Additional permanent bankruptcy judgeships have not been authorized since 1992.

The time has come for Congress to address bankruptcy judgeship needs more permanently. We need a bankruptcy system that has a sufficient number of judges to be able to manage the system's caseload in a just, economical and timely manner. This bill helps ensure that we have such a system.

I'd like to thank Ranking Member Conyers (D-Mich.) for his efforts on this issue. I'd also like to thank Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law Subcommittee Chairman Marino (R-Pa.) and Ranking Member Cicilline (D-R.I.) for joining me as original cosponsors of the bill.

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