ALERT: Credit Industry Financed Bankruptcy "Reform" Bill Being Rushed Thru Congress
Hi everyone, WorriedBk7 has reported to this forum what has gone unreported in the major press:
Congress is acting fast to move forward on enacting the so-called bankruptcy "reform" bill that will limit everyone's access to a fresh start, the basis of American bankruptcy philosophy.
The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 is punitive. It puts credit card payments ahead of child support in terms of what must be paid by debtors ineligible for Chapter 7. And, under these new guidelines, if enacted, most people would not be eligible for Chapter 7.
You can learn more about it online. And it will probably be in your local newpapers tomorrow. If you go to Google, then click on news, then type in "bankruptcy," you will get stories about it. The news media is finally picking up on it.
Congress may vote on this as early as the middle of March. They will debate it next week.
If you are opposed to this legislation that would ruin families and virtually eliminate our possibilities for starting over, the time to act is now. It is urgent.
What can you do?
1) Call your congressional reps and senators. Tell them you oppose the bankruptcy reform bill. That it hurts families. That it puts cc companies before kids and punishes the men and women serving in the Armed forces. (I'm not kidding; I couldn't make this up.)
Tell them that you when it comes time for re-election you'll remember if they stood-up for working Americans, women and children, members of the military and veterans, or whether they were bought out by the credit card companies. (MBNA was one of the largest lobbying forces behind this bill, and a huge contributor to political coffers on both sides of the aisle.) This is not about Dems and Repubs, it is about big money and selling out to it. 80 out of a hundred senators are currently planning on backing this bill.
To figure out how to contact your congressional representatives and senators, go to
U.S. House of Represenatives
U.S. Senate
2) If you are part of a congregation and will be attending services this weekend, talk to members of your congregation about how this law violates the Biblical concept of forgiveness of debts (which was described beautifully by "freshstartinmo" on this forum.) Ask the members of your congregation or parish or community group to write and call their congressional reps and senators.
3) Please email your friends and family and ask them to do the same. Let them know where you stand on this awful legislation. You don't have to tell them that you're thinking of filing ;), or you might want to.
4) If you want to read the bill, go to http://thomas.loc.gov/ and type in "bankruptcy," "S.256," (the Senate version) or "H.R.685," (the House version.) It's not exactly a fun read, but you can see what they're talking about if you can get through the legalese.
5) To send a quick "automated" letter or e-mail to your senators and reps, this link works well . . .
http://capwiz.com/thenation/mail/one...lertid=7085876
A final note: Please don't have a heart attack reading this. Even if the bill passes, the way the bill is currently written there will be a 180-day period before it becomes law. So you would have about 6 months to file under the existing laws. I think the lines at the BK court will be awfully long if this passes. ;)
But please don't let this good news deter you from acting; even if you get to file under the existing law, your friends, family, and those folks serving overseas in Iraq will be denied this basic protection in the future. Don't let that happen.
Sorry if this is a bit of a rant, but I can't stand seeing our government completely sold out to corporate interests. It breaks my heart. This is supposed to be a government by the people and for the people, not by the corporations for the corporations.
And, if this country is still a democracy, it may be possible to stop this legislation.
Congress is acting fast to move forward on enacting the so-called bankruptcy "reform" bill that will limit everyone's access to a fresh start, the basis of American bankruptcy philosophy.
The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 is punitive. It puts credit card payments ahead of child support in terms of what must be paid by debtors ineligible for Chapter 7. And, under these new guidelines, if enacted, most people would not be eligible for Chapter 7.
You can learn more about it online. And it will probably be in your local newpapers tomorrow. If you go to Google, then click on news, then type in "bankruptcy," you will get stories about it. The news media is finally picking up on it.
Congress may vote on this as early as the middle of March. They will debate it next week.
If you are opposed to this legislation that would ruin families and virtually eliminate our possibilities for starting over, the time to act is now. It is urgent.
What can you do?
1) Call your congressional reps and senators. Tell them you oppose the bankruptcy reform bill. That it hurts families. That it puts cc companies before kids and punishes the men and women serving in the Armed forces. (I'm not kidding; I couldn't make this up.)
Tell them that you when it comes time for re-election you'll remember if they stood-up for working Americans, women and children, members of the military and veterans, or whether they were bought out by the credit card companies. (MBNA was one of the largest lobbying forces behind this bill, and a huge contributor to political coffers on both sides of the aisle.) This is not about Dems and Repubs, it is about big money and selling out to it. 80 out of a hundred senators are currently planning on backing this bill.
To figure out how to contact your congressional representatives and senators, go to
U.S. House of Represenatives
U.S. Senate
2) If you are part of a congregation and will be attending services this weekend, talk to members of your congregation about how this law violates the Biblical concept of forgiveness of debts (which was described beautifully by "freshstartinmo" on this forum.) Ask the members of your congregation or parish or community group to write and call their congressional reps and senators.
3) Please email your friends and family and ask them to do the same. Let them know where you stand on this awful legislation. You don't have to tell them that you're thinking of filing ;), or you might want to.
4) If you want to read the bill, go to http://thomas.loc.gov/ and type in "bankruptcy," "S.256," (the Senate version) or "H.R.685," (the House version.) It's not exactly a fun read, but you can see what they're talking about if you can get through the legalese.
5) To send a quick "automated" letter or e-mail to your senators and reps, this link works well . . .
http://capwiz.com/thenation/mail/one...lertid=7085876
A final note: Please don't have a heart attack reading this. Even if the bill passes, the way the bill is currently written there will be a 180-day period before it becomes law. So you would have about 6 months to file under the existing laws. I think the lines at the BK court will be awfully long if this passes. ;)
But please don't let this good news deter you from acting; even if you get to file under the existing law, your friends, family, and those folks serving overseas in Iraq will be denied this basic protection in the future. Don't let that happen.
Sorry if this is a bit of a rant, but I can't stand seeing our government completely sold out to corporate interests. It breaks my heart. This is supposed to be a government by the people and for the people, not by the corporations for the corporations.
And, if this country is still a democracy, it may be possible to stop this legislation.