89–006 

116TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1st Session 116–169 

HONORING AMERICAN VETERANS IN EXTREME NEED 

ACT OF 2019 

JULY 23, 2019.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of 

the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. NADLER, from the Committee on the Judiciary, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 2938] 

The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the bill 

(H.R. 2938) to exempt from the calculation of monthly income certain benefits paid by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the 

Department of Defense, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do 

pass. 

CONTENTS 

Page 

Purpose and Summary ............................................................................................ 1 

Background and Need for the Legislation ............................................................. 2 

Hearings ................................................................................................................... 3 

Committee Consideration ........................................................................................ 4 

Committee Votes ...................................................................................................... 4 

Committee Oversight Findings ............................................................................... 4 

New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures and Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate ................................................................................................ 4 

Duplication of Federal Programs ............................................................................ 4 

Performance Goals and Objectives ......................................................................... 4 

Advisory on Earmarks ............................................................................................. 5 

Section-by-Section Analysis .................................................................................... 5 

Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported ..................................... 5 

Purpose and Summary 

H.R. 2938, the ‘‘Honoring American Veterans in Extreme Need 

Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘HAVEN Act,’’ would provide that certain veterans’ disability benefits should not be treated as income for purposes of the Bankruptcy Code’s means test. This bipartisan measure was introduced by Representative Lucy McBath (D–GA) on 

May 23, 2019, together with Representative W. Gregory Steube (R– 

2 

1Oversight of Bankruptcy Law and Legislative Proposals: Hearing Before the Subcomm. on 

Antitrust, Commercial, & Admin. Law of the H. Comm. on the Judiciary, 116th Cong. (2019) 

(statement of Rep. Lucy McBath (D–GA)). 2See id (prepared statement of Robert J. Keach, Am. Bankr. Inst.); Am. Bankr. Inst., Final 

Rep. of the ABI Commission on Consumer Bankruptcy, at 134–35 (2019) [hereinafter ABI Consumer Report]. 3Oversight of Bankruptcy Law and Legislative Proposals: Hearing Before the Subcomm. on 

Antitrust, Commercial, & Admin. Law of the H. Comm. on the Judiciary, 116th Cong. (2019) 

(statement of Ed Boltz, National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys). 4Letter from U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John E. Waites, Pres., Nat’l Conf. of Bankr. Judges, to 

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D–NY), Chair, H. Comm. on the Judiciary, & Rep. Doug Collins (R–GA), 

Ranking Member, H. Comm. on the Judiciary (May 31, 2019). 5Letter from Marc A. Levinson, Chair, Am. Coll. of Bankr., and Mark D. Bloom, Pres., Am. 

Coll. of Bankr. to Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D–NY), Chair, H. Comm. on the Judiciary, & Rep. Doug 

Collins (R–GA), Ranking Member, H. Comm. on the Judiciary (June 11, 2019). 6 Bankruptcy Amendments and Federal Judgeship Act of 1984, Pub. L. No. 98–353, § 312, 

98 Stat. 333, 335 (1984). 7 11 U.S.C. § 707(b) (2019). 

8 6 Alan N. Resnick & Henry J. Sommer, Collier on Bankruptcy § 707.LH[2], at 707–61 (15th 

ed. rev. 2006). 9 Id. at § 707.04. 10 Bankruptcy Judges, United States Trustees, and Family Farmer Bankruptcy Act of 1986, 

Pub. L. No. 99–554, § 219, 100 Stat. 3088, 3101 (1986). The United States Trustee Program is 

responsible for overseeing the administration of bankruptcy cases and private trustees. 28 

U.S.C. § § 581–89a (2019). The Program is overseen by the Executive Office for United States 

Trustees, which provides policy and management direction to United States Trustees. The Program operates through a system of 21 regions nationwide, except for North Carolina and Alabama. Bankruptcy Judges, United States Trustees, and Family Farmer Bankruptcy Act of 1986, 

Pub. L. No. 99–554 (1986); 28 U.S.C. § 581 n. (2019). With respect to North Carolina and Alabama, the bankruptcy system is administered by a bankruptcy administrator appointed by the 

Judicial Conference. Id. 11Pub. L. No. 109–8, 119 Stat. 23 (2005). 

FL) as an original cosponsor. The bill is supported by the Veterans 

of Foreign Affairs, the American Legion, and the Disabled American Veterans.1 In addition, it is supported by the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI),2 the National Association of Consumer 

Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA),3 the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges,4 and the American College of Bankruptcy.5

Background and Need for the Legislation 

BACKGROUND

Although the Bankruptcy Code as originally enacted in 1978 provided that a chapter 7 case could only be dismissed for ‘‘cause,’’ the 

Code was amended in 1984 to permit the court to dismiss a chapter 

7 case for ‘‘substantial abuse.’’ 6 This provision, codified in section 

707(b) of the Bankruptcy Code,7 was added ‘‘as part of a package 

of consumer credit amendments designed to reduce perceived 

abuses in the use of chapter 7.’’ 8 It was intended to respond ‘‘to 

concerns that some debtors who could easily pay their creditors 

might resort to chapter 7 to avoid their obligations.’’ 9 In 1986, section 707(b) was further amended to allow a United States Trustee 

to move for dismissal.10

Among its various amendments to the Bankruptcy Code, the 

Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 

2005 11 included the establishment of a means or needs-based testing mechanism to determine a debtor’s ability to repay debts for 

the purpose of determining whether the filing of the bankruptcy 

case should be presumed to be abusive. As amended by that Act, 

section 707(b) of the Bankruptcy Code provides that if a chapter 7 

debtor has the ability to repay debts and has no special circumstances, the filing of the debtor’s case is presumed to be an 

abuse and subject to dismissal or conversion to a chapter 13 case 

based on the debtor’s income and various specified expenses, some 

3 

12 11 U.S.C. § 707(b)(2)(A) (2019). 13 11 U.S.C. § 101(10A) (2019). 14 145 Cong. Rec. 29,929 (1999). 15See ABI Consumer Report at 134–35. 16Letter from John E. Waites, President, Nat’l Conf. of Bankr. Judges, to Rep. Jerrold Nadler 

(D–NY), Chair, H. Comm. on the Judiciary, & Rep. Doug Collins (R–GA), Ranking Member, H. 

Comm. on the Judiciary (May 31, 2019). 17Oversight of Bankruptcy Law and Legislative Proposals: Hearing Before the Subcomm. on 

Antitrust, Commercial, & Admin. Law of the H. Comm. on the Judiciary, 116th Cong. (2019). 

of which are determined under Internal Revenue expense standards.12 The debtor’s income, for purposes of this test, is typically 

determined by calculating the amount of average monthly income 

the debtor received during the six-month period preceding the filing of the bankruptcy case.13

NEED FOR THE LEGISLATION

For purposes of the Bankruptcy Code’s means test, Social Security benefit payments are excluded as income. As Senator Edward 

Kennedy (D–MA) stated in support of his amendment providing for 

this exclusion that was ultimately included in the 2005 Amendments: 

The bottom line is that bankruptcy shouldn’t be made 

more difficult for those who are depending on Social Security for their livelihood. Social Security was developed to 

ensure that seniors can live their golden years in dignity. 

If we allow Social Security income to be considered while 

determining whether someone is eligible for bankruptcy, a 

portion of those benefits could be used in a manner inconsistent with Congress’ intent.14

There are, however, various other federal retirement benefit programs—such as programs for veterans—that take the place of Social Security, at least for the period during which the worker held 

the type of employment covered under such program. Much like Social Security, these other federal benefit programs almost always 

prevent assignment or seizure of these benefits by creditors.15 Nevertheless, the Bankruptcy Code’s means test treats such payments 

as income. 

H.R. 2938, the ‘‘Honoring American Veterans in Extreme Need 

Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘HAVEN Act,’’ would bring certain veterans’ 

disability benefits paid by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 

and the U.S. Department of Defense into parity with the treatment 

of Social Security payments under the Bankruptcy Code’s means 

test. According to the NCBJ, such treatment ‘‘will remedy an imbalance in the Bankruptcy Code that disproportionately steers veterans receiving such benefits into Chapter 13 cases because they 

often fail the Chapter 7 means test.’’ 16

Hearings 

For the purposes of section 103(i) of H. Res. 6 of the 116th Congress, the following hearing was used to consider H.R. 2938: ‘‘Oversight of Bankruptcy Law and Legislative Proposals,’’ which was 

held on June 25, 2019 by the Committee’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law.17 The hearing considered various legislative measures. Of pertinence to H.R. 2938, the 

following witnesses testified: Hollister K. Petraeus, former AssistVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:35 Jul 27, 2019 Jkt 089006 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR169.XXX HR169
4 

18See generally id. 

ant Director, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Office of 

Servicemember Affairs; Edward C. Boltz, on behalf of the NACBA; 

and Robert J. Keach, on behalf of the ABI.18

Committee Consideration 

On July 11, 2019, the Committee met in open session and ordered the bill, H.R. 2938, favorably reported without amendment 

by voice vote, a quorum being present. 

Committee Votes 

In compliance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the Committee advises that no rollcall 

votes occurred during the Committee’s consideration of H.R. 2938. 

Committee Oversight Findings 

In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the Committee advises that the findings 

and recommendations of the Committee, based on oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the descriptive portions of this report. 

New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures and 

Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate 

With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of 

the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 308(a) of the 

Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and with respect to requirements 

of clause (3)(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 

1974, the Committee has requested but not received a cost estimate 

for this bill from the Director of Congressional Budget Office. The 

Committee has requested but not received from the Director of the 

Congressional Budget Office a statement as to whether this bill 

contains any new budget authority, spending authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures. 

Duplication of Federal Programs 

No provision of H.R. 2938 establishes or reauthorizes a program 

of the federal government known to be duplicative of another federal program, a program that was included in any report from the 

Government Accountability Office to Congress pursuant to section 

21 of Public Law 111–139, or a program related to a program identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance. 

Performance Goals and Objectives 

The Committee states that pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII 

of the Rules of the House of Representatives, H.R. 2938 would extend the temporary authorization exempting certain qualifying reserve component members of the Armed Services and National 

Guard members from the Bankruptcy Code’s means test for four 

years. 

5 

Advisory on Earmarks 

In accordance with clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, H.R. 2938 does not contain any congressional 

earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined 

in clause 9(d), 9(e), or 9(f) of rule XXI. 

Section-by-Section Analysis 

The following discussion describes the bill as reported by the 

Committee. 

Sec. 1. Short Title. Section 1 sets forth the short title of the bill 

as the ‘‘Honoring American Veterans in Extreme Need Act of 2019’’ 

or the ‘‘HAVEN Act’’. 

Sec. 2. Definition of Current Monthly Income. Bankruptcy Code 

section 101 defines various terms. Section 2 would amend Bankruptcy Code section 101(10A), which defines ‘‘current monthly income’’ for purposes of the Code’s means test, to exclude compensation paid by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. 

Department of Defense to an individual in connection with a disability, combat-related injury or disability, or death of a member of 

the uniformed services. 

Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported 

In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the bill, 

as reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in italic, 

and existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in 

roman): 

TITLE 11, UNITED STATES CODE 

* * * * * * * 

CHAPTER 1—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

* * * * * * * 

§ 101. Definitions 

In this title the following definitions shall apply: 

(1) The term ‘‘accountant’’ means accountant authorized 

under applicable law to practice public accounting, and includes professional accounting association, corporation, or partnership, if so authorized. 

(2) The term ‘‘affiliate’’ means— 

(A) entity that directly or indirectly owns, controls, or 

holds with power to vote, 20 percent or more of the outstanding voting securities of the debtor, other than an entity that holds such securities— 

(i) in a fiduciary or agency capacity without sole discretionary power to vote such securities; or 

(ii) solely to secure a debt, if such entity has not in 

fact exercised such power to vote; 

(B) corporation 20 percent or more of whose outstanding 

voting securities are directly or indirectly owned, controlled, or held with power to vote, by the debtor, or by an 

6 

entity that directly or indirectly owns, controls, or holds 

with power to vote, 20 percent or more of the outstanding 

voting securities of the debtor, other than an entity that 

holds such securities— 

(i) in a fiduciary or agency capacity without sole discretionary power to vote such securities; or 

(ii) solely to secure a debt, if such entity has not in 

fact exercised such power to vote; 

(C) person whose business is operated under a lease or 

operating agreement by a debtor, or person substantially 

all of whose property is operated under an operating 

agreement with the debtor; or 

(D) entity that operates the business or substantially all 

of the property of the debtor under a lease or operating 

agreement. 

(3) The term ‘‘assisted person’’ means any person whose 

debts consist primarily of consumer debts and the value of 

whose nonexempt property is less than $150,000. 

(4) The term ‘‘attorney’’ means attorney, professional law association, corporation, or partnership, authorized under applicable law to practice law. 

(4A) The term ‘‘bankruptcy assistance’’ means any goods or 

services sold or otherwise provided to an assisted person with 

the express or implied purpose of providing information, advice, counsel, document preparation, or filing, or attendance at 

a creditors’ meeting or appearing in a case or proceeding on behalf of another or providing legal representation with respect 

to a case or proceeding under this title. 

(5) The term ‘‘claim’’ means— 

(A) right to payment, whether or not such right is reduced to judgment, liquidated, unliquidated, fixed, contingent, matured, unmatured, disputed, undisputed, legal, equitable, secured, or unsecured; or 

(B) right to an equitable remedy for breach of performance if such breach gives rise to a right to payment, 

whether or not such right to an equitable remedy is reduced to judgment, fixed, contingent, matured, unmatured, 

disputed, undisputed, secured, or unsecured. 

(6) The term ‘‘commodity broker’’ means futures commission 

merchant, foreign futures commission merchant, clearing organization, leverage transaction merchant, or commodity options 

dealer, as defined in section 761 of this title, with respect to 

which there is a customer, as defined in section 761 of this 

title. 

(7) The term ‘‘community claim’’ means claim that arose before the commencement of the case concerning the debtor for 

which property of the kind specified in section 541(a)(2) of this 

title is liable, whether or not there is any such property at the 

time of the commencement of the case. 

(7A) The term ‘‘commercial fishing operation’’ means— 

(A) the catching or harvesting of fish, shrimp, lobsters, 

urchins, seaweed, shellfish, or other aquatic species or 

products of such species; or 

7 

(B) for purposes of section 109 and chapter 12, aquaculture activities consisting of raising for market any species or product described in subparagraph (A). 

(7B) The term ‘‘commercial fishing vessel’’ means a vessel 

used by a family fisherman to carry out a commercial fishing 

operation. 

(8) The term ‘‘consumer debt’’ means debt incurred by an individual primarily for a personal, family, or household purpose. 

(9) The term ‘‘corporation’’— 

(A) includes— 

(i) association having a power or privilege that a private corporation, but not an individual or a partnership, possesses; 

(ii) partnership association organized under a law 

that makes only the capital subscribed responsible for 

the debts of such association; 

(iii) joint-stock company; 

(iv) unincorporated company or association; or 

(v) business trust; but 

(B) does not include limited partnership. 

(10) The term ‘‘creditor’’ means— 

(A) entity that has a claim against the debtor that arose 

at the time of or before the order for relief concerning the 

debtor; 

(B) entity that has a claim against the estate of a kind 

specified in section 348(d), 502(f), 502(g), 502(h) or 502(i) 

of this title; or 

(C) entity that has a community claim. 

(10A) The term ‘‘current monthly income’’— 

(A) means the average monthly income from all sources 

that the debtor receives (or in a joint case the debtor and 

the debtor’s spouse receive) without regard to whether 

such income is taxable income, derived during the 6-month 

period ending on— 

(i) the last day of the calendar month immediately 

preceding the date of the commencement of the case if 

the debtor files the schedule of current income required by section 521(a)(1)(B)(ii); or 

(ii) the date on which current income is determined 

by the court for purposes of this title if the debtor does 

not file the schedule of current income required by section 521(a)(1)(B)(ii); and 

ø(B) includes any amount paid by any entity other than 

the debtor (or in a joint case the debtor and the debtor’s 

spouse), on a regular basis for the household expenses of 

the debtor or the debtor’s dependents (and in a joint case 

the debtor’s spouse if not otherwise a dependent), but excludes benefits received under the Social Security Act, payments to victims of war crimes or crimes against humanity 

on account of their status as victims of such crimes, and 

payments to victims of international terrorism (as defined 

in section 2331 of title 18) or domestic terrorism (as defined in section 2331 of title 18) on account of their status 

as victims of such terrorism.¿ 

8 

(B)(i) includes any amount paid by any entity other than 

the debtor (or in a joint case the debtor and the debtor’s 

spouse), on a regular basis for the household expenses of 

the debtor or the debtor’s dependents (and in a joint case 

the debtor’s spouse if not otherwise a dependent); and 

(ii) excludes— 

(I) benefits received under the Social Security Act (42 

U.S.C. 301 et seq.); 

(II) payments to victims of war crimes or crimes 

against humanity on account of their status as victims 

of such crimes; 

(III) payments to victims of international terrorism 

or domestic terrorism, as those terms are defined in 

section 2331 of title 18, on account of their status as 

victims of such terrorism; and 

(IV) any monthly compensation, pension, pay, annuity, or allowance paid under title 10, 37, or 38 in connection with a disability, combat-related injury or disability, or death of a member of the uniformed services, 

except that any retired pay excluded under this subclause shall include retired pay paid under chapter 61 

of title 10 only to the extent that such retired pay exceeds the amount of retired pay to which the debtor 

would otherwise be entitled if retired under any provision of title 10 other than chapter 61 of that title. 

(11) The term ‘‘custodian’’ means— 

(A) receiver or trustee of any of the property of the debtor, appointed in a case or proceeding not under this title; 

(B) assignee under a general assignment for the benefit 

of the debtor’s creditors; or 

(C) trustee, receiver, or agent under applicable law, or 

under a contract, that is appointed or authorized to take 

charge of property of the debtor for the purpose of enforcing a lien against such property, or for the purpose of general administration of such property for the benefit of the 

debtor’s creditors. 

(12) The term ‘‘debt’’ means liability on a claim. 

(12A) The term ‘‘debt relief agency’’ means any person who 

provides any bankruptcy assistance to an assisted person in return for the payment of money or other valuable consideration, 

or who is a bankruptcy petition preparer under section 110, 

but does not include— 

(A) any person who is an officer, director, employee, or 

agent of a person who provides such assistance or of the 

bankruptcy petition preparer; 

(B) a nonprofit organization that is exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code 

of 1986; 

(C) a creditor of such assisted person, to the extent that 

the creditor is assisting such assisted person to restructure 

any debt owed by such assisted person to the creditor; 

(D) a depository institution (as defined in section 3 of the 

Federal Deposit Insurance Act) or any Federal credit union 

or State credit union (as those terms are defined in section 

9 

101 of the Federal Credit Union Act), or any affiliate or 

subsidiary of such depository institution or credit union; or 

(E) an author, publisher, distributor, or seller of works 

subject to copyright protection under title 17, when acting 

in such capacity. 

(13) The term ‘‘debtor’’ means person or municipality concerning which a case under this title has been commenced. 

(13A) The term ‘‘debtor’s principal residence’’— 

(A) means a residential structure if used as the principal 

residence by the debtor, including incidental property, 

without regard to whether that structure is attached to 

real property; and 

(B) includes an individual condominium or cooperative 

unit, a mobile or manufactured home, or trailer if used as 

the principal residence by the debtor. 

(14) The term ‘‘disinterested person’’ means a person that— 

(A) is not a creditor, an equity security holder, or an insider; 

(B) is not and was not, within 2 years before the date 

of the filing of the petition, a director, officer, or employee 

of the debtor; and 

(C) does not have an interest materially adverse to the 

interest of the estate or of any class of creditors or equity 

security holders, by reason of any direct or indirect relationship to, connection with, or interest in, the debtor, or 

for any other reason. 

(14A) The term ‘‘domestic support obligation’’ means a debt 

that accrues before, on, or after the date of the order for relief 

in a case under this title, including interest that accrues on 

that debt as provided under applicable nonbankruptcy law notwithstanding any other provision of this title, that is— 

(A) owed to or recoverable by— 

(i) a spouse, former spouse, or child of the debtor or 

such child’s parent, legal guardian, or responsible relative; or 

(ii) a governmental unit; 

(B) in the nature of alimony, maintenance, or support 

(including assistance provided by a governmental unit) of 

such spouse, former spouse, or child of the debtor or such 

child’s parent, without regard to whether such debt is expressly so designated; 

(C) established or subject to establishment before, on, or 

after the date of the order for relief in a case under this 

title, by reason of applicable provisions of— 

(i) a separation agreement, divorce decree, or property settlement agreement; 

(ii) an order of a court of record; or 

(iii) a determination made in accordance with applicable nonbankruptcy law by a governmental unit; and 

(D) not assigned to a nongovernmental entity, unless 

that obligation is assigned voluntarily by the spouse, 

former spouse, child of the debtor, or such child’s parent, 

legal guardian, or responsible relative for the purpose of 

collecting the debt. 

10 

(15) The term ‘‘entity’’ includes person, estate, trust, governmental unit, and United States trustee. 

(16) The term ‘‘equity security’’ means— 

(A) share in a corporation, whether or not transferable 

or denominated ‘‘stock’’, or similar security; 

(B) interest of a limited partner in a limited partnership; 

or 

(C) warrant or right, other than a right to convert, to 

purchase, sell, or subscribe to a share, security, or interest 

of a kind specified in subparagraph (A) or (B) of this paragraph. 

(17) The term ‘‘equity security holder’’ means holder of an equity security of the debtor. 

(18) The term ‘‘family farmer’’ means— 

(A) individual or individual and spouse engaged in a 

farming operation whose aggregate debts do not exceed 

$3,237,000 and not less than 50 percent of whose aggregate noncontingent, liquidated debts (excluding a debt for 

the principal residence of such individual or such individual and spouse unless such debt arises out of a farming 

operation), on the date the case is filed, arise out of a 

farming operation owned or operated by such individual or 

such individual and spouse, and such individual or such 

individual and spouse receive from such farming operation 

more than 50 percent of such individual’s or such individual and spouse’s gross income for— 

(i) the taxable year preceding; or 

(ii) each of the 2d and 3d taxable years preceding; 

the taxable year in which the case concerning such individual or such individual and spouse was filed; or 

(B) corporation or partnership in which more than 50 

percent of the outstanding stock or equity is held by one 

family, or by one family and the relatives of the members 

of such family, and such family or such relatives conduct 

the farming operation, and 

(i) more than 80 percent of the value of its assets 

consists of assets related to the farming operation; 

(ii) its aggregate debts do not exceed $3,237,000 and 

not less than 50 percent of its aggregate noncontingent, liquidated debts (excluding a debt for one dwelling which is owned by such corporation or partnership 

and which a shareholder or partner maintains as a 

principal residence, unless such debt arises out of a 

farming operation), on the date the case is filed, arise 

out of the farming operation owned or operated by 

such corporation or such partnership; and 

(iii) if such corporation issues stock, such stock is 

not publicly traded. 

(19) The term ‘‘family farmer with regular annual income’’ 

means family farmer whose annual income is sufficiently stable and regular to enable such family farmer to make payments under a plan under chapter 12 of this title. 

(19A) The term ‘‘family fisherman’’ means— 

(A) an individual or individual and spouse engaged in a 

commercial fishing operation— 

11 

(i) whose aggregate debts do not exceed $1,500,000 

and not less than 80 percent of whose aggregate noncontingent, liquidated debts (excluding a debt for the 

principal residence of such individual or such individual and spouse, unless such debt arises out of a 

commercial fishing operation), on the date the case is 

filed, arise out of a commercial fishing operation 

owned or operated by such individual or such individual and spouse; and 

(ii) who receive from such commercial fishing operation more than 50 percent of such individual’s or 

such individual’s and spouse’s gross income for the 

taxable year preceding the taxable year in which the 

case concerning such individual or such individual and 

spouse was filed; or 

(B) a corporation or partnership— 

(i) in which more than 50 percent of the outstanding 

stock or equity is held by— 

(I) 1 family that conducts the commercial fishing operation; or 

(II) 1 family and the relatives of the members of 

such family, and such family or such relatives conduct the commercial fishing operation; and 

(ii)(I) more than 80 percent of the value of its assets 

consists of assets related to the commercial fishing operation; 

(II) its aggregate debts do not exceed $1,500,000 and 

not less than 80 percent of its aggregate noncontingent, liquidated debts (excluding a debt for 1 dwelling 

which is owned by such corporation or partnership and 

which a shareholder or partner maintains as a principal residence, unless such debt arises out of a commercial fishing operation), on the date the case is filed, 

arise out of a commercial fishing operation owned or 

operated by such corporation or such partnership; and 

(III) if such corporation issues stock, such stock is 

not publicly traded. 

(19B) The term ‘‘family fisherman with regular annual income’’ means a family fisherman whose annual income is sufficiently stable and regular to enable such family fisherman to 

make payments under a plan under chapter 12 of this title. 

(20) The term ‘‘farmer’’ means (except when such term appears in the term ‘‘family farmer’’) person that received more 

than 80 percent of such person’s gross income during the taxable year of such person immediately preceding the taxable 

year of such person during which the case under this title concerning such person was commenced from a farming operation 

owned or operated by such person. 

(21) The term ‘‘farming operation’’ includes farming, tillage 

of the soil, dairy farming, ranching, production or raising of 

crops, poultry, or livestock, and production of poultry or livestock products in an unmanufactured state. 

(21A) The term ‘‘farmout agreement’’ means a written agreement in which— 

12 

(A) the owner of a right to drill, produce, or operate liquid or gaseous hydrocarbons on property agrees or has 

agreed to transfer or assign all or a part of such right to 

another entity; and 

(B) such other entity (either directly or through its 

agents or its assigns), as consideration, agrees to perform 

drilling, reworking, recompleting, testing, or similar or related operations, to develop or produce liquid or gaseous 

hydrocarbons on the property. 

(21B) The term ‘‘Federal depository institutions regulatory 

agency’’ means— 

(A) with respect to an insured depository institution (as 

defined in section 3(c)(2) of the Federal Deposit Insurance 

Act) for which no conservator or receiver has been appointed, the appropriate Federal banking agency (as defined in section 3(q) of such Act); 

(B) with respect to an insured credit union (including an 

insured credit union for which the National Credit Union 

Administration has been appointed conservator or liquidating agent), the National Credit Union Administration; 

(C) with respect to any insured depository institution for 

which the Resolution Trust Corporation has been appointed conservator or receiver, the Resolution Trust Corporation; and 

(D) with respect to any insured depository institution for 

which the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has been 

appointed conservator or receiver, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. 

(22) The term ‘‘financial institution’’ means— 

(A) a Federal reserve bank, or an entity that is a commercial or savings bank, industrial savings bank, savings 

and loan association, trust company, federally-insured 

credit union, or receiver, liquidating agent, or conservator 

for such entity and, when any such Federal reserve bank, 

receiver, liquidating agent, conservator or entity is acting 

as agent or custodian for a customer (whether or not a 

‘‘customer’’, as defined in section 741) in connection with 

a securities contract (as defined in section 741) such customer; or 

(B) in connection with a securities contract (as defined 

in section 741) an investment company registered under 

the Investment Company Act of 1940. 

(22A) The term ‘‘financial participant’’ means— 

(A) an entity that, at the time it enters into a securities 

contract, commodity contract, swap agreement, repurchase 

agreement, or forward contract, or at the time of the date 

of the filing of the petition, has one or more agreements 

or transactions described in paragraph (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), 

or (6) of section 561(a) with the debtor or any other entity 

(other than an affiliate) of a total gross dollar value of not 

less than $1,000,000,000 in notional or actual principal 

amount outstanding (aggregated across counterparties) at 

such time or on any day during the 15-month period preceding the date of the filing of the petition, or has gross 

mark-to-market positions of not less than $100,000,000 

13 

(aggregated across counterparties) in one or more such 

agreements or transactions with the debtor or any other 

entity (other than an affiliate) at such time or on any day 

during the 15-month period preceding the date of the filing 

of the petition; or 

(B) a clearing organization (as defined in section 402 of 

the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement 

Act of 1991). 

(23) The term ‘‘foreign proceeding’’ means a collective judicial 

or administrative proceeding in a foreign country, including an 

interim proceeding, under a law relating to insolvency or adjustment of debt in which proceeding the assets and affairs of 

the debtor are subject to control or supervision by a foreign 

court, for the purpose of reorganization or liquidation. 

(24) The term ‘‘foreign representative’’ means a person or 

body, including a person or body appointed on an interim basis, 

authorized in a foreign proceeding to administer the reorganization or the liquidation of the debtor’s assets or affairs or 

to act as a representative of such foreign proceeding. 

(25) The term ‘‘forward contract’’ means— 

(A) a contract (other than a commodity contract, as defined in section 761) for the purchase, sale, or transfer of 

a commodity, as defined in section 761(8) of this title, or 

any similar good, article, service, right, or interest which 

is presently or in the future becomes the subject of dealing 

in the forward contract trade, or product or byproduct 

thereof, with a maturity date more than two days after the 

date the contract is entered into, including, but not limited 

to, a repurchase or reverse repurchase transaction (whether or not such repurchase or reverse repurchase transaction is a ‘‘repurchase agreement’’, as defined in this section) consignment, lease, swap, hedge transaction, deposit, 

loan, option, allocated transaction, unallocated transaction, 

or any other similar agreement; 

(B) any combination of agreements or transactions referred to in subparagraphs (A) and (C); 

(C) any option to enter into an agreement or transaction 

referred to in subparagraph (A) or (B); 

(D) a master agreement that provides for an agreement 

or transaction referred to in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C), 

together with all supplements to any such master agreement, without regard to whether such master agreement 

provides for an agreement or transaction that is not a forward contract under this paragraph, except that such master agreement shall be considered to be a forward contract 

under this paragraph only with respect to each agreement 

or transaction under such master agreement that is referred to in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C); or 

(E) any security agreement or arrangement, or other 

credit enhancement related to any agreement or transaction referred to in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or (D), including any guarantee or reimbursement obligation by or 

to a forward contract merchant or financial participant in 

connection with any agreement or transaction referred to 

in any such subparagraph, but not to exceed the damages 

14 

in connection with any such agreement or transaction, 

measured in accordance with section 562. 

(26) The term ‘‘forward contract merchant’’ means a Federal 

reserve bank, or an entity the business of which consists in 

whole or in part of entering into forward contracts as or with 

merchants in a commodity (as defined in section 761) or any 

similar good, article, service, right, or interest which is presently or in the future becomes the subject of dealing in the forward contract trade. 

(27) The term ‘‘governmental unit’’ means United States; 

State; Commonwealth; District; Territory; municipality; foreign 

state; department, agency, or instrumentality of the United 

States (but not a United States trustee while serving as a 

trustee in a case under this title), a State, a Commonwealth, 

a District, a Territory, a municipality, or a foreign state; or 

other foreign or domestic government. 

(27A) The term ‘‘health care business’’— 

(A) means any public or private entity (without regard 

to whether that entity is organized for profit or not for 

profit) that is primarily engaged in offering to the general 

public facilities and services for— 

(i) the diagnosis or treatment of injury, deformity, or 

disease; and 

(ii) surgical, drug treatment, psychiatric, or obstetric 

care; and 

(B) includes— 

(i) any— 

(I) general or specialized hospital; 

(II) ancillary ambulatory, emergency, or surgical 

treatment facility; 

(III) hospice; 

(IV) home health agency; and 

(V) other health care institution that is similar 

to an entity referred to in subclause (I), (II), (III), 

or (IV); and 

(ii) any long-term care facility, including any— 

(I) skilled nursing facility; 

(II) intermediate care facility; 

(III) assisted living facility; 

(IV) home for the aged; 

(V) domiciliary care facility; and 

(VI) health care institution that is related to a 

facility referred to in subclause (I), (II), (III), (IV), 

or (V), if that institution is primarily engaged in 

offering room, board, laundry, or personal assistance with activities of daily living and incidentals 

to activities of daily living. 

(27B) The term ‘‘incidental property’’ means, with respect to 

a debtor’s principal residence— 

(A) property commonly conveyed with a principal residence in the area where the real property is located; 

(B) all easements, rights, appurtenances, fixtures, rents, 

royalties, mineral rights, oil or gas rights or profits, water 

rights, escrow funds, or insurance proceeds; and 

(C) all replacements or additions. 

15 

(28) The term ‘‘indenture’’ means mortgage, deed of trust, or 

indenture, under which there is outstanding a security, other 

than a voting-trust certificate, constituting a claim against the 

debtor, a claim secured by a lien on any of the debtor’s property, or an equity security of the debtor. 

(29) The term ‘‘indenture trustee’’ means trustee under an 

indenture. 

(30) The term ‘‘individual with regular income’’ means individual whose income is sufficiently stable and regular to enable 

such individual to make payments under a plan under chapter 

13 of this title, other than a stockbroker or a commodity 

broker. 

(31) The term ‘‘insider’’ includes— 

(A) if the debtor is an individual— 

(i) relative of the debtor or of a general partner of 

the debtor; 

(ii) partnership in which the debtor is a general 

partner; 

(iii) general partner of the debtor; or 

(iv) corporation of which the debtor is a director, officer, or person in control; 

(B) if the debtor is a corporation— 

(i) director of the debtor; 

(ii) officer of the debtor; 

(iii) person in control of the debtor; 

(iv) partnership in which the debtor is a general 

partner; 

(v) general partner of the debtor; or 

(vi) relative of a general partner, director, officer, or 

person in control of the debtor; 

(C) if the debtor is a partnership— 

(i) general partner in the debtor; 

(ii) relative of a general partner in, general partner 

of, or person in control of the debtor; 

(iii) partnership in which the debtor is a general 

partner; 

(iv) general partner of the debtor; or 

(v) person in control of the debtor; 

(D) if the debtor is a municipality, elected official of the 

debtor or relative of an elected official of the debtor; 

(E) affiliate, or insider of an affiliate as if such affiliate 

were the debtor; and 

(F) managing agent of the debtor. 

(32) The term ‘‘insolvent’’ means— 

(A) with reference to an entity other than a partnership 

and a municipality, financial condition such that the sum 

of such entity’s debts is greater than all of such entity’s 

property, at a fair valuation, exclusive of— 

(i) property transferred, concealed, or removed with 

intent to hinder, delay, or defraud such entity’s creditors; and 

(ii) property that may be exempted from property of 

the estate under section 522 of this title; 

16 

(B) with reference to a partnership, financial condition 

such that the sum of such partnership’s debts is greater 

than the aggregate of, at a fair valuation— 

(i) all of such partnership’s property, exclusive of 

property of the kind specified in subparagraph (A)(i) of 

this paragraph; and 

(ii) the sum of the excess of the value of each general partner’s nonpartnership property, exclusive of 

property of the kind specified in subparagraph (A) of 

this paragraph, over such partner’s nonpartnership 

debts; and 

(C) with reference to a municipality, financial condition 

such that the municipality is— 

(i) generally not paying its debts as they become due 

unless such debts are the subject of a bona fide dispute; or 

(ii) unable to pay its debts as they become due. 

(33) The term ‘‘institution-affiliated party’’— 

(A) with respect to an insured depository institution (as 

defined in section 3(c)(2) of the Federal Deposit Insurance 

Act), has the meaning given it in section 3(u) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act; and 

(B) with respect to an insured credit union, has the 

meaning given it in section 206(r) of the Federal Credit 

Union Act. 

(34) The term ‘‘insured credit union’’ has the meaning given 

it in section 101(7) of the Federal Credit Union Act. 

(35) The term ‘‘insured depository institution’’— 

(A) has the meaning given it in section 3(c)(2) of the 

Federal Deposit Insurance Act; and 

(B) includes an insured credit union (except in the case 

of paragraphs (21B) and (33)(A) of this subsection). 

(35A) The term ‘‘intellectual property’’ means— 

(A) trade secret; 

(B) invention, process, design, or plant protected under 

title 35; 

(C) patent application; 

(D) plant variety; 

(E) work of authorship protected under title 17; or 

(F) mask work protected under chapter 9 of title 17; 

to the extent protected by applicable nonbankruptcy law. 

(36) The term ‘‘judicial lien’’ means lien obtained by judgment, levy, sequestration, or other legal or equitable process or 

proceeding. 

(37) The term ‘‘lien’’ means charge against or interest in 

property to secure payment of a debt or performance of an obligation. 

(38) The term ‘‘margin payment’’ means, for purposes of the 

forward contract provisions of this title, payment or deposit of 

cash, a security or other property, that is commonly known in 

the forward contract trade as original margin, initial margin, 

maintenance margin, or variation margin, including mark-tomarket payments, or variation payments. 

(38A) The term ‘‘master netting agreement’’— 

17 

(A) means an agreement providing for the exercise of 

rights, including rights of netting, setoff, liquidation, termination, acceleration, or close out, under or in connection 

with one or more contracts that are described in any one 

or more of paragraphs (1) through (5) of section 561(a), or 

any security agreement or arrangement or other credit enhancement related to one or more of the foregoing, including any guarantee or reimbursement obligation related to 

1 or more of the foregoing; and 

(B) if the agreement contains provisions relating to 

agreements or transactions that are not contracts described in paragraphs (1) through (5) of section 561(a), 

shall be deemed to be a master netting agreement only 

with respect to those agreements or transactions that are 

described in any one or more of paragraphs (1) through (5) 

of section 561(a). 

(38B) The term ‘‘master netting agreement participant’’ 

means an entity that, at any time before the date of the filing 

of the petition, is a party to an outstanding master netting 

agreement with the debtor. 

(39) The term ‘‘mask work’’ has the meaning given it in section 901(a)(2) of title 17. 

(39A) The term ‘‘median family income’’ means for any 

year— 

(A) the median family income both calculated and reported by the Bureau of the Census in the then most recent year; and 

(B) if not so calculated and reported in the then current 

year, adjusted annually after such most recent year until 

the next year in which median family income is both calculated and reported by the Bureau of the Census, to reflect the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index 

for All Urban Consumers during the period of years occurring after such most recent year and before such current 

year. 

(40) The term ‘‘municipality’’ means political subdivision or 

public agency or instrumentality of a State. 

(40A) The term ‘‘patient’’ means any individual who obtains 

or receives services from a health care business. 

(40B) The term ‘‘patient records’’ means any record relating 

to a patient, including a written document or a record recorded 

in a magnetic, optical, or other form of electronic medium. 

(41) The term ‘‘person’’ includes individual, partnership, and 

corporation, but does not include governmental unit, except 

that a governmental unit that— 

(A) acquires an asset from a person— 

(i) as a result of the operation of a loan guarantee 

agreement; or 

(ii) as receiver or liquidating agent of a person; 

(B) is a guarantor of a pension benefit payable by or on 

behalf of the debtor or an affiliate of the debtor; or 

(C) is the legal or beneficial owner of an asset of— 

(i) an employee pension benefit plan that is a governmental plan, as defined in section 414(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; or 

18 

(ii) an eligible deferred compensation plan, as defined in section 457(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

1986; 

shall be considered, for purposes of section 1102 of this title, 

to be a person with respect to such asset or such benefit. 

(41A) The term ‘‘personally identifiable information’’ 

means— 

(A) if provided by an individual to the debtor in connection with obtaining a product or a service from the debtor 

primarily for personal, family, or household purposes— 

(i) the first name (or initial) and last name of such 

individual, whether given at birth or time of adoption, 

or resulting from a lawful change of name; 

(ii) the geographical address of a physical place of 

residence of such individual; 

(iii) an electronic address (including an e-mail address) of such individual; 

(iv) a telephone number dedicated to contacting such 

individual at such physical place of residence; 

(v) a social security account number issued to such 

individual; or 

(vi) the account number of a credit card issued to 

such individual; or 

(B) if identified in connection with 1 or more of the items 

of information specified in subparagraph (A)— 

(i) a birth date, the number of a certificate of birth 

or adoption, or a place of birth; or 

(ii) any other information concerning an identified 

individual that, if disclosed, will result in contacting or 

identifying such individual physically or electronically. 

(42) The term ‘‘petition’’ means petition filed under section 

301, 302, 303 and 1504 of this title, as the case may be, commencing a case under this title. 

(42A) The term ‘‘production payment’’ means a term overriding royalty satisfiable in cash or in kind— 

(A) contingent on the production of a liquid or gaseous 

hydrocarbon from particular real property; and 

(B) from a specified volume, or a specified value, from 

the liquid or gaseous hydrocarbon produced from such 

property, and determined without regard to production 

costs. 

(43) The term ‘‘purchaser’’ means transferee of a voluntary 

transfer, and includes immediate or mediate transferee of such 

a transferee. 

(44) The term ‘‘railroad’’ means common carrier by railroad 

engaged in the transportation of individuals or property or 

owner of trackage facilities leased by such a common carrier. 

(45) The term ‘‘relative’’ means individual related by affinity 

or consanguinity within the third degree as determined by the 

common law, or individual in a step or adoptive relationship 

within such third degree. 

(46) The term ‘‘repo participant’’ means an entity that, at 

any time before the filing of the petition, has an outstanding 

repurchase agreement with the debtor. 

19 

(47) The term ‘‘repurchase agreement’’ (which definition also 

applies to a reverse repurchase agreement)— 

(A) means— 

(i) an agreement, including related terms, which 

provides for the transfer of one or more certificates of 

deposit, mortgage related securities (as defined in section 3 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934), mortgage loans, interests in mortgage related securities or 

mortgage loans, eligible bankers’ acceptances, qualified foreign government securities (defined as a security that is a direct obligation of, or that is fully guaranteed by, the central government of a member of the 

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), or securities that are direct obligations of, or 

that are fully guaranteed by, the United States or any 

agency of the United States against the transfer of 

funds by the transferee of such certificates of deposit, 

eligible bankers’ acceptances, securities, mortgage 

loans, or interests, with a simultaneous agreement by 

such transferee to transfer to the transferor thereof 

certificates of deposit, eligible bankers’ acceptance, securities, mortgage loans, or interests of the kind described in this clause, at a date certain not later than 

1 year after such transfer or on demand, against the 

transfer of funds; 

(ii) any combination of agreements or transactions 

referred to in clauses (i) and (iii); 

(iii) an option to enter into an agreement or transaction referred to in clause (i) or (ii); 

(iv) a master agreement that provides for an agreement or transaction referred to in clause (i), (ii), or 

(iii), together with all supplements to any such master 

agreement, without regard to whether such master 

agreement provides for an agreement or transaction 

that is not a repurchase agreement under this paragraph, except that such master agreement shall be 

considered to be a repurchase agreement under this 

paragraph only with respect to each agreement or 

transaction under the master agreement that is referred to in clause (i), (ii), or (iii); or 

(v) any security agreement or arrangement or other 

credit enhancement related to any agreement or transaction referred to in clause (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv), including any guarantee or reimbursement obligation by or 

to a repo participant or financial participant in connection with any agreement or transaction referred to 

in any such clause, but not to exceed the damages in 

connection with any such agreement or transaction, 

measured in accordance with section 562 of this title; 

and 

(B) does not include a repurchase obligation under a participation in a commercial mortgage loan. 

(48) The term ‘‘securities clearing agency’’ means person that 

is registered as a clearing agency under section 17A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or exempt from such registraVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:35 Jul 27, 2019 Jkt 089006 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6601 E:\HR\OC\HR169.XXX HR169
20 

tion under such section pursuant to an order of the Securities 

and Exchange Commission, or whose business is confined to 

the performance of functions of a clearing agency with respect 

to exempted securities, as defined in section 3(a)(12) of such 

Act for the purposes of such section 17A. 

(48A) The term ‘‘securities self regulatory organization’’ 

means either a securities association registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission under section 15A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or a national securities exchange 

registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission 

under section 6 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. 

(49) The term ‘‘security’’— 

(A) includes— 

(i) note; 

(ii) stock; 

(iii) treasury stock; 

(iv) bond; 

(v) debenture; 

(vi) collateral trust certificate; 

(vii) pre-organization certificate or subscription; 

(viii) transferable share; 

(ix) voting-trust certificate; 

(x) certificate of deposit; 

(xi) certificate of deposit for security; 

(xii) investment contract or certificate of interest or 

participation in a profit-sharing agreement or in an 

oil, gas, or mineral royalty or lease, if such contract or 

interest is required to be the subject of a registration 

statement filed with the Securities and Exchange 

Commission under the provisions of the Securities Act 

of 1933, or is exempt under section 3(b) of such Act 

from the requirement to file such a statement; 

(xiii) interest of a limited partner in a limited partnership; 

(xiv) other claim or interest commonly known as ‘‘security’’; and 

(xv) certificate of interest or participation in, temporary or interim certificate for, receipt for, or warrant 

or right to subscribe to or purchase or sell, a security; 

but 

(B) does not include— 

(i) currency, check, draft, bill of exchange, or bank 

letter of credit; 

(ii) leverage transaction, as defined in section 761 of 

this title; 

(iii) commodity futures contract or forward contract; 

(iv) option, warrant, or right to subscribe to or purchase or sell a commodity futures contract; 

(v) option to purchase or sell a commodity; 

(vi) contract or certificate of a kind specified in subparagraph (A)(xii) of this paragraph that is not required to be the subject of a registration statement 

filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission 

and is not exempt under section 3(b) of the Securities 

21 

Act of 1933 from the requirement to file such a statement; or 

(vii) debt or evidence of indebtedness for goods sold 

and delivered or services rendered. 

(50) The term ‘‘security agreement’’ means agreement that 

creates or provides for a security interest. 

(51) The term ‘‘security interest’’ means lien created by an 

agreement. 

(51A) The term ‘‘settlement payment’’ means, for purposes of 

the forward contract provisions of this title, a preliminary settlement payment, a partial settlement payment, an interim 

settlement payment, a settlement payment on account, a final 

settlement payment, a net settlement payment, or any other 

similar payment commonly used in the forward contract trade. 

(51B) The term ‘‘single asset real estate’’ means real property 

constituting a single property or project, other than residential 

real property with fewer than 4 residential units, which generates substantially all of the gross income of a debtor who is 

not a family farmer and on which no substantial business is 

being conducted by a debtor other than the business of operating the real property and activities incidental thereto. 

(51C) The term ‘‘small business case’’ means a case filed 

under chapter 11 of this title in which the debtor is a small 

business debtor. 

(51D) The term ‘‘small business debtor’’— 

(A) subject to subparagraph (B), means a person engaged in commercial or business activities (including any 

affiliate of such person that is also a debtor under this title 

and excluding a person whose primary activity is the business of owning or operating real property or activities incidental thereto) that has aggregate noncontingent liquidated secured and unsecured debts as of the date of the 

filing of the petition or the date of the order for relief in 

an amount not more than $2,000,000 (excluding debts 

owed to 1 or more affiliates or insiders) for a case in which 

the United States trustee has not appointed under section 

1102(a)(1) a committee of unsecured creditors or where the 

court has determined that the committee of unsecured 

creditors is not sufficiently active and representative to 

provide effective oversight of the debtor; and 

(B) does not include any member of a group of affiliated 

debtors that has aggregate noncontingent liquidated secured and unsecured debts in an amount greater than 

$2,000,000 (excluding debt owed to 1 or more affiliates or 

insiders). 

(52) The term ‘‘State’’ includes the District of Columbia and 

Puerto Rico, except for the purpose of defining who may be a 

debtor under chapter 9 of this title. 

(53) The term ‘‘statutory lien’’ means lien arising solely by 

force of a statute on specified circumstances or conditions, or 

lien of distress for rent, whether or not statutory, but does not 

include security interest or judicial lien, whether or not such 

interest or lien is provided by or is dependent on a statute and 

whether or not such interest or lien is made fully effective by 

statute. 

22 

(53A) The term ‘‘stockbroker’’ means person— 

(A) with respect to which there is a customer, as defined 

in section 741 of this title; and 

(B) that is engaged in the business of effecting transactions in securities— 

(i) for the account of others; or 

(ii) with members of the general public, from or for 

such person’s own account. 

(53B) The term ‘‘swap agreement’’— 

(A) means— 

(i) any agreement, including the terms and conditions incorporated by reference in such agreement, 

which is— 

(I) an interest rate swap, option, future, or forward agreement, including a rate floor, rate cap, 

rate collar, cross-currency rate swap, and basis 

swap; 

(II) a spot, same day-tomorrow, tomorrow-next, 

forward, or other foreign exchange, precious metals, or other commodity agreement; 

(III) a currency swap, option, future, or forward 

agreement; 

(IV) an equity index or equity swap, option, future, or forward agreement; 

(V) a debt index or debt swap, option, future, or 

forward agreement; 

(VI) a total return, credit spread or credit swap, 

option, future, or forward agreement; 

(VII) a commodity index or a commodity swap, 

option, future, or forward agreement; 

(VIII) a weather swap, option, future, or forward agreement; 

(IX) an emissions swap, option, future, or forward agreement; or 

(X) an inflation swap, option, future, or forward 

agreement; 

(ii) any agreement or transaction that is similar to 

any other agreement or transaction referred to in this 

paragraph and that— 

(I) is of a type that has been, is presently, or in 

the future becomes, the subject of recurrent dealings in the swap or other derivatives markets (including terms and conditions incorporated by reference therein); and 

(II) is a forward, swap, future, option, or spot 

transaction on one or more rates, currencies, commodities, equity securities, or other equity instruments, debt securities or other debt instruments, 

quantitative measures associated with an occurrence, extent of an occurrence, or contingency associated with a financial, commercial, or economic 

consequence, or economic or financial indices or 

measures of economic or financial risk or value; 

(iii) any combination of agreements or transactions 

referred to in this subparagraph; 

23 

(iv) any option to enter into an agreement or transaction referred to in this subparagraph; 

(v) a master agreement that provides for an agreement or transaction referred to in clause (i), (ii), (iii), 

or (iv), together with all supplements to any such master agreement, and without regard to whether the 

master agreement contains an agreement or transaction that is not a swap agreement under this paragraph, except that the master agreement shall be considered to be a swap agreement under this paragraph 

only with respect to each agreement or transaction 

under the master agreement that is referred to in 

clause (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv); or 

(vi) any security agreement or arrangement or other 

credit enhancement related to any agreements or 

transactions referred to in clause (i) through (v), including any guarantee or reimbursement obligation by 

or to a swap participant or financial participant in 

connection with any agreement or transaction referred 

to in any such clause, but not to exceed the damages 

in connection with any such agreement or transaction, 

measured in accordance with section 562; and 

(B) is applicable for purposes of this title only, and shall 

not be construed or applied so as to challenge or affect the 

characterization, definition, or treatment of any swap 

agreement under any other statute, regulation, or rule, including the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the Legal Certainty 

for Bank Products Act of 2000, the securities laws (as such 

term is defined in section 3(a)(47) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) and the Commodity Exchange Act. 

(53C) The term ‘‘swap participant’’ means an entity that, at 

any time before the filing of the petition, has an outstanding 

swap agreement with the debtor. 

(56A) The term ‘‘term overriding royalty’’ means an interest 

in liquid or gaseous hydrocarbons in place or to be produced 

from particular real property that entitles the owner thereof to 

a share of production, or the value thereof, for a term limited 

by time, quantity, or value realized. 

(53D) The term ‘‘timeshare plan’’ means and shall include 

that interest purchased in any arrangement, plan, scheme, or 

similar device, but not including exchange programs, whether 

by membership, agreement, tenancy in common, sale, lease, 

deed, rental agreement, license, right to use agreement, or by 

any other means, whereby a purchaser, in exchange for consideration, receives a right to use accommodations, facilities, or 

recreational sites, whether improved or unimproved, for a specific period of time less than a full year during any given year, 

but not necessarily for consecutive years, and which extends 

for a period of more than three years. A ‘‘timeshare interest’’ 

is that interest purchased in a timeshare plan which grants 

the purchaser the right to use and occupy accommodations, facilities, or recreational sites, whether improved or unimproved, 

pursuant to a timeshare plan. 

(54) The term ‘‘transfer’’ means— 

(A) the creation of a lien; 

24 

(B) the retention of title as a security interest; 

(C) the foreclosure of a debtor’s equity of redemption; or 

(D) each mode, direct or indirect, absolute or conditional, 

voluntary or involuntary, of disposing of or parting with— 

(i) property; or 

(ii) an interest in property. 

(54A) The term ‘‘uninsured State member bank’’ means a 

State member bank (as defined in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act) the deposits of which are not insured by 

the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. 

(55) The term ‘‘United States’’, when used in a geographical 

sense, includes all locations where the judicial jurisdiction of 

the United States extends, including territories and possessions of the United States. 

* * * * * * * 

Æ