XXXX Voted Against Exempting Troops, Veterans, and their Widows from Means Tests. In March 2005, XXXX voted against an amendment to the Bankruptcy Overhaul bill that would have exempted members of the armed forces, veterans, and spouses of service members who die in military service from application of the bill’s means test provisions. It also would have allowed them claim a minimum homestead exemption of $75,000 or choose the exemption in the state in which they file, whichever is higher. [Vote 13, 3/1/05] XXXX Voted to Make it Easier for Low Income Veterans and Active Duty Service Members to Claim “Safe Harbor” Provision of Bankruptcy Bill. In March 2005, XXXX voted for an amendment to the Bankruptcy Overhaul bill that made it more difficult for low-income veterans, debtors who have medical conditions, or those called or ordered to active duty to qualify for the “safe harbor” provision of the bill. The amendment required these individuals to satisfy all the procedural requirements of a means test used by bankruptcy judges to determine whether debtors have the ability to repay some or all of their debts. [Vote 12, 3/1/05] XXXX Voted For Senate Passage Of The Bankruptcy Reform Act Of 2001. In 2001, XXXX voted to send negotiators the Senate version of the Bankruptcy Reform legislation making it tougher for people to erase credit card and other debt in bankruptcy court. The legislation XXXX voted for would enact reforms to prevent upper- income creditors who have the means of repaying some or all of their debts from unjustly filing for bankruptcy and to protect consumers from unfair credit practices. Under the bill, a bankruptcy judge would be allowed to dismiss a Chapter 7 case if the system was being “abused” or, alternatively, to convert it into a Chapter 11 or a Chapter 13 case if the system was being abused and if the petitioner consents. The conference committees could not successfully reach a compromise, and as such, the bill never became law. The vote was on passage of the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2001. [HR 333, Vote 236, 7/17/01] XXXX Voted Not To Require A Study Of The Bankruptcy Bill’s Effects. In 2001, XXXX voted Sen. Wellstone’s amendment to require the General Accounting Office (GAO): to conduct a study of the effects of the underlying bill on the number and cost of chapter 7 and chapter 13 filings, on the number and success rate of chapter 13 plan confirmations, on consumer credit, and on the ability of debtors below median income to obtain bankruptcy relief; to report the results of the study to Congress within two years of the bill's date of enactment; and to collect data on the number of reaffirmations by debtors under title 11, the identity of the creditors in such reaffirmations, and the type of debt that is reaffirmed. The amendment was agreed to, 52-46. [HR 333, Vote 235, 7/17/01] XXXX Voted To Pass The Senate Bankruptcy Reform Act Of 2001. In 2001, XXXX voted for the most sweeping overhaul of bankruptcy laws in 20 years, to prevent upper-income creditors who have the means of paying some or all of their debts from unjustly filing for bankruptcy, and to enact reforms to protect consumers from unfair credit practices. The legislation applies a new standard for determining whether people filing for bankruptcy should be forced to repay their debts under a court-approved reorganization plan rather than having them dissolved. If a debtor were found to have sufficient income to repay at least 25 percent of the debt over five years, a reorganization plan generally would be required. The vote was on final Senate passage, as amended, of the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2001. [S 420, Vote 36, 3/15/01; Associated Press, 3/15/01] XXXX Voted Against Lifting A Limit On A Debtor’s Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Filings. In 2001, XXXX voted against Wellstone’s amendment that would strike the bill provision that prohibits a debtor from filing for bankruptcy under chapter 13 more than once every 5 years (under chapter 13, a debtor enters into a repayment plan to eliminate a portion of his or her debt over a number of years, after which any remaining debts are discharged). The amendment was rejected, 36-63. [S 420, Vote 34, 3/15/01] XXXX Voted Against Separating Spouses Incomes In Bankruptcy Proceedings. In 2001, XXXX voted against amending the means test that the bill used to determine whether a bankrupt's income level is above the median level for the State. The amendment would change the part of the test that will require both the income of a debtor and a debtor's spouse to be considered in the means test to a requirement that both spouses' income be considered only in joint cases. The amendment was agreed to, 56-43. [S 420, Vote 32, 3/15/01] 20