CONFEREE DISPUTE DELAYING BILL PROGRESS
March 23, 2001
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The National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA) reports that the Bankruptcy Reform bills are currently delayed. Both the House and Senate have passed bankruptcy bills, but they did not pass the same bill. That means the two chambers must resolve their differences either by meeting in a conference committee where members from both chambers and parties are represented, or the House must agree to the bill the Senate passed, or vice versa.
The Senate approved 32 amendments before agreeing to the legislation, several of which are not supported by the House. Most importantly, the Senate agreed to an absolute cap of $125,000 on the homestead exemption, and incorporated language regarding the nondischargeability of debts incurred as a result of violations of laws prohibiting abortion clinic violence. Both provisions are opposed by House Republican leaders.
As a result, it is unlikely that the House would agree to the Senate’s version of the legislation. At the same time, the Senate has not been able to name conferees because the power sharing arrangement agreed to by the Democrats and Republicans in the wake of the 2000 elections did not set out a process for conference committees. As a result, the bankruptcy bill is serving as the first test case … which means how it is resolved goes well beyond this issue. Senate Democrats are insisting on a 50-50 split on conference committees; Republicans are insisting on a one vote majority.
In the meantime, some lawmakers have suggested that use another “shadow” conference to produce a final bill to be voted on by both chambers. A shadow conference is one that does not play by an official rules, and does not include any opponents of the legislation. Basically, the bill’s proponents will meet in secret and hammer out the details of a bill they all can agree on. In the event this happens, watch for Democratic opposition based on process alone. To learn more about the bills and the process, go to NACBA’s Web site at www.nacba.org
