Covid-19 Bankruptcy Relief Extension Act of 2021

Floor Speech

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Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, this pandemic, everyone knows, has uprooted lives and caused untold destruction to families, to workers, and to small businesses. And many see the partisan behavior as destructive during this time, and they often do not see the bipartisan behavior.

Today's extension, H.R. 1651, is an example of bipartisan behavior on behalf of the American people. Repeated and lengthy government shutdowns in response to the pandemic have devastated the ability of millions to work, pay bills, and support their families, and keep their small businesses afloat.

In my home State of California, the restaurant industry has seen more than one out of four restaurants shutter their doors forever.

In 2020, Congress passed five bipartisan COVID relief packages. The CARES Act allowed a variety of temporary relief measures for families and small businesses. When it was passed, we believed that, in fact, once the vaccine was available, that we would be able to put this behind us. But today, when over 10 percent of Americans have received a vaccine, we now know that the road to full recovery is longer ahead of us even after we begin going to work.

So allowing small businesses to file chapter 11 bankruptcy by increasing the maximum debt ceiling, excluding Federal COVID relief payments from income calculations, and allowing debtors to file chapter 13 to modify their payment plans are only some of the critical items that the CARES Act did. Today we are making sure these will continue until March of 2022.

This bill also extends through 2022 bankruptcy relief provisions included in the December 2020 COVID relief package. This extension will provide individuals and businesses with certainty and simplicity as they look at an economic recovery that, although it is underway, may be long.

Enacting this bill will assist debtors and businesses of all sorts, as Americans and their firms continue to address economic realities. This bill is bipartisan, and the bill recognizes that even businesses which have remained up and running often find themselves in a ripple effect of other bankruptcies or failures by companies that have been shut down.

Madam Speaker, I strongly recommend the passage of this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cline), one of the coauthors of this bill.

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Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, both sides of the aisle are united behind this good, sensible extension of law.

Madam Speaker, I strongly recommend that all of our Members vote for it, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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