HOUSE COMMITTEE APPROVES ANTI-CONSUMER BANKRUPTCY BILL
March 17, 2005
Return To Archives
The House Judiciary Committee approved S. 256, as passed by the Senate, by a vote of 22-13.
The bill is now cleared to proceed to the House floor when members return from their spring recess on April 4.
The House Rules Committee will first meet to establish a rule for which amendments would be in order to be offered. However, it is not likely that these amendments will succeed.
Most provisions of the bill that affect consumers will not go into effect for 180 days after the bill becomes law, assuming it is approved by the full House and is signed by the President, both of which events seem certain at this point. If you believe you may need to seek bankruptcy relief in the near future, you should consider doing so before the new law would take effect. Otherwise it will be more costly and difficult to file bankruptcy, if you qualify at all.
