"The consumer bankrutpcy reform bill I introduced with Senator Durbin responds to the record-high level of consumer bankruptcies filed last year. Too often, bankruptcy is used as a tool of convenience by people who have the ability to repay their debts. The result is higher prices and higher interest rates for hardworking Americans who make sacrifices and do what it takes to pay their bills on time. To the extent that the bankruptcy code itself contributes to convenience bankruptcy filings by consumers, Congress should act to make the law more fair," Grassley said.
Grassley serves as Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts, which handles bankruptcy policy. Last October, he and Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee, introduced the Consumer Bankruptcy Reform Act. The Grassley/Durbin bill would make it more difficult for individuals to declare bankruptcy and easily absolve themselves of consumer debt, while at the same time providing new consumer protections against abuse by creditors.
The hearing ? The Consumer Bankruptcy Reform Act: Seeking Fair and Practical Solutions to the Consumer Bankruptcy Crisis ? will begin at two o'clock on Wednesday, March 11, 1998, in the Senate Dirksen Office Building, Room 226. This hearing will be the seventh bankruptcy hearing held by Grassley so far in the 105th Congress. Here is the list of witnesses scheduled to testify.
Panel I
Mr. Lawrence A. Friedman
Secretary of the National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees
Friedman & Kohut P.C., Southfield, Michigan
The Honorable A. Thomas Small
Chief Bankruptcy Judge, United States District Court, Eastern District of North Carolina
Raleigh, North Carolina
Professor of Economics Tahira K. Hira
Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa
Mr. George J. Wallace
Partner, Eckert, Seamans, Cherin & Melott, LLC, Washington, D.C.
Mr. William E. Brewer, Jr.
Board Member of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys
Raleigh, North Carolina
Panel II
Mr. Richard Stana
Associate Director of the Administration of Justice Issues
General Accounting Office, Washington, D.C.
Professor Michael Staten
Director of the Credit Research Center, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
Mr. Stephen Brobeck
Executive Director of the Consumer Federation of America, Washington, D.C.
Mr. Brian McDonnell
Board Member of the National Association of Federal Credit Unions
Arlington, Virginia
Mr. Robert Elliot
Vice Chairman of Household International, Chicago, Illinois
Panel III
Professor Douglas Boshkoff
Robert H. McKinney Professor Emeritus of Law, Indiana University
Bloomington, Indiana
Mr. Randy Picker
National Bankruptcy Conference, University of Chicago Law School, Chicago, Illinois
Ms. Deborah D. Williamson
Incoming President, American Bankruptcy Institute, Alexandria, Virginia
Mr. Matthew Mason
United Auto Workers, Detroit, Michigan
Mr. Stan Bluestone
National Retail Federation, Chairman of the Carson, Pirie, Scott & Company
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
