OLDER AMERICAN GROUPS URGE “NO” VOTE ON BANKRUPTCY CONFERENCE REPORT

September 9, 2002

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September 9, 2002

Dear Colleague:

As a co-chair of the Older Americans Caucus, I have heard from many of our colleagues expressing their concern about the devastating effect that corporate bankruptcies and a declining economy have had on older workers and retirees, persons with disabilities, and families struggling to make ends meet. Yet the House is poised to take a final vote as early as this week on consumer bankruptcy legislation that would deprive many of our most vulnerable citizens of relief when their financial burdens become too heavy for them to bear.

Enclosed is a letter I thought you would want to see from the Leadership Council of Aging Organizations (LCAO), urging you to vote against the conference report on H.R. 333. I hope that you will carefully consider their views before casting your vote.

Sincerely,

William D. Delahunt

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LEADERSHIP COUNCIL

of

AGING ORGANIZATIONS

James P. Firman, Ed.D., Chair

September 5, 2002

Dear Representative:

The undersigned members of the Leadership Council of Aging Organizations (LCAO) urge you to vote against the conference report for HR 333, the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2002, should it come to the floor this year. Although we wish to prevent the few but flagrant abuses of the bankruptcy system, we oppose HR 333 as it is currently written because it would unfairly burden older Americans who turn to bankruptcy in the face of overwhelming financial difficulties.

In 2001, more than 250,000 older Americans [55 years and older] filed for bankruptcy. And the number of Americans aged 65 and older filing for bankruptcy has tripled in the last ten years, making older Americans the fastest growing age group in bankruptcy. The vast majority of seniors facing bankruptcy are not profligate spenders. Instead, they are men and women who worked hard all their lives and, in their later years, are financially devastated by medical expenses or the loss of a job.

If HR 333 is enacted, individuals and families attempting to regroup after a hardship will be adversely affected. This legislation would push many debtors from Chapter 7 into Chapter 13, which requires a repayment plan. Currently, two-thirds of Chapter 13 plans fail and HR 333 contains provisions to make Chapter 13 more difficult. HR 333 adds costly and onerous requirements for debtors, leading to an increased burden on the bankruptcy system and escalating harassment of individuals by their creditors.

AFL-CIO Department of Public Policy
AFSCME Retirees
Alliance for Retired Americans
American Association for International Aging
American Federation of Teachers
B’nai B’rith International Center for Senior Services
Families USA
Gray Panthers
National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys
National Association of Retired Federal Employees
National Association of State Long Term Care Ombudsman Programs
National Caucus and Center on Black Aged
National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare
National Council on the Aging
National Hispanic Council on Aging
National Senior Citizens Law Center
OWL, the voice of midlife and older women
United Auto Workers Retired Workers Department

________________________________________________________________

Mark D. Agrast, Counsel and Legislative Director

The Honorable William D. Delahunt

United States House of Representatives

1317 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515

_________________________________________________________________

202.225.3111 (phone) 202.225.5658 (fax)

mark.agrast@mail.house.gov