This afternoon, the House Of Representatives will vote on a bill
introduced by John Conyers (D-OH) and Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) that would
exempt victims of Hurrican Katrina from the "Bankruptcy Reform And
Consumer Protection Act" which passed earlier this summer. Unless this
bill passes, the law will prevent many people who lost their homes and
possessions from declaring bankruptcy and getting a fresh start. As crazy
at it seems, there will definitely be Republican opposition to this bill.
If you care at all, and especially if you live in a Republican district,
you should really call your Congressman's office this afternoon and
express your support for the legislation. Find your Congressman's phone
number here:
http://www.usalone.com/get_instantcongress_np.htm
Or just call the directory:
1-800-959-2780
Here's a good article from the LA Times descirbing how this law, if unchanged, could affect the victims of the hurricane:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-bankrupt7sep07,1,7031138.story?coll=la-headlines-nation
― Hatch (Hatch), Thursday, 8 September 2005 15:59 (nineteen years ago)
So, let's see if I have this straight...
The bankruptcy law was recently revised. These revisions are so poorly thought out that the new law becomes an intolerable burden to about a million people. Now the people who lately revised the law aren't thinking about fixing the problems they created, but are willing to consider passing yet another law that exempts those million people from their initial idiocy.
Did I get it right?
― Aimless (Aimless), Thursday, 8 September 2005 16:18 (nineteen years ago)
The law wasn't poorly thought out in the least. It was written by lobbyists for credit card companies and passed by Republicans, and it ensures that lenders will make as much money as possible in the future by being allowed to take advantage of people in desperate situations who can't pay back their debts. The people who are introducing the legislation vehemently opposed the dubiously named "Bankruptcy Reform And Consumer Protection Act" and are taking this opportunity to prevent the law from wreaking its intended havoc on lower middle class families who might have been able to pay their bills before but are now destitute.
― Hatch (Hatch), Thursday, 8 September 2005 16:26 (nineteen years ago)
Then the law is working just as it was intended to work by those who voted for it, by imposing intolerable burdens on the victims of a diaster that was not in any way self-inflicted, while protecting corporate lenders from losing their 18% to 22% profits.
As a wise person might once have said: let the political consequences fly free and, if they return to you, you own them.
― Aimless (Aimless), Thursday, 8 September 2005 17:23 (nineteen years ago)