CONFEREES FAIL TO REACH AGREEMENT- ABORTION CLINIC VIOLENCE PROVISION IS REMAINING ISSUE

May 1, 2002

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Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) yesterday rejected another House counteroffer on bankruptcy reform, turning down a new abortion-related proposal by Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.), according to sources familiar with a private meeting among several conferees, reported CongressDaily. Senate Democrats, led by Schumer, argued for the standard included in the Senate-passed bill, which would bar debtors from discharging monetary penalties related to various types of harm, including harassment and intimidation, related to abortion clinics.

According to documents obtained by CongressDaily, Hyde’s newest offer would have abandoned the “willful and malicious” standard and shifted to a standard in which debts would be nondischargeable if linked to acts in which “the debtor was found to have intentionally caused or threatened to cause bodily injury or cause substantial damage to property… even where there was no criminal conviction.” Sources said Schumer rejected the offer and did not make a counterproposal, reported CongressDaily. Sources said Schumer also emphasized at the meeting that he would continue to fight for the Senate-passed language. According to the Associated Press, staff has been instructed to continue seeking a resolution, the Republican aides said.