H10648 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE October 2, 2008 

minute and to revise and extend his remarks.) 

Mr. KUCINICH. If someone sticks up 

a bank, they get a jail sentence. Wall 

Street sticks up the Nation, they get a 

$700 billion bailout. The free market 

doesn’t mean Wall Street should be 

free to steal from the American taxpayer. It’s a free market, not a spree 

market. 

The American values of fairness, frugality, and faith are being sacrificed to 

greed. The Senate took a dreadful bill 

that failed on the House floor and made 

no substantive changes to help homeowners and to enact substantive regulatory protections for investors, and 

instead attached tax provisions that 

have absolutely nothing to do with the 

underlying financial crisis. 

Among the tax credits are tax credits 

for banks; we’re borrowing money from 

banks to give money to banks, and we 

take toxic assets in return. The problem is people can’t pay for their mortgages and their homes are endangered. 

You have to remember this: if this bill 

passes, it doesn’t address the underlying crisis. People can’t pay for their 

mortgages. The market may go up 

temporarily, but people will still be 

losing their homes, and what will we 

have accomplished? Wake up, America. 

f 

WHY SHOULD TAXPAYERS GET 

THE LEFTOVERS? 

(Mr. DOGGETT asked and was given 

permission to address the House for 1 

minute.) 

Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, I commend Warren Buffet on his confidence 

in American business, but his recent 

combined investment in Goldman 

Sachs and General Electric was not a 

charitable donation. He is not purchasing toxic securities; he is buying 

preferred stock. Why should American 

taxpayers get anything less? Why does 

he buy the preferred, and we buy the 

leftovers? 

I share my neighbors’ concerns about 

the impact of some in Washington hitting the panic button on their retirement, their home, or their business. 

But when markets are poisoned, you 

demand the best antidote—Not yield to 

another of President Bush’s take-it-orleave-it demands. 

f 

AUTHORIZING THE SPEAKER TO 

ENTERTAIN MOTIONS TO SUSPEND THE RULES ON TODAY 

Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. Mr. 

Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 

the Speaker be authorized to entertain 

motions to suspend the rules on the 

legislative day of Thursday, October 2, 

2008, relating to the following measures: S. 3197; S. 3641; and H.R. 7221. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there 

objection to the request of the gentlewoman from California? 

There was no objection. 

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE SPEAKER 

PRO TEMPORE 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, the Chair 

will postpone further proceedings 

today on motions to suspend the rules 

on which a recorded vote or the yeas 

and nays are ordered, or on which the 

vote is objected to under clause 6 of 

rule XX. 

Record votes on postponed questions 

will be taken later. 

f 

NATIONAL GUARD AND RESERVISTS DEBT RELIEF ACT OF 2008 

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I move 

to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 3197) to amend title 11, 

United States Code, to exempt for a 

limited period, from the application of 

the means-test presumption of abuse 

under chapter 7, qualifying members of 

reserve components of the Armed 

Forces and members of the National 

Guard who, after September 11, 2001, 

are called to active duty or to perform 

a homeland defense activity for not 

less than 90 days. 

The Clerk read the title of the Senate 

bill. 

The text of the Senate bill is as follows: 

S. 3197 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in 

Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National 

Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Act of 

2008’’. 

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS. 

Section 707(b)(2)(D) of title 11, United 

States Code, is amended— 

(1) in clauses (i) and (ii)— 

(A) by indenting the left margin of such 

clauses 2 ems to the right, and 

(B) by redesignating such clauses as subclauses (I) and (II), respectively, 

(2) by striking ‘‘testing, if the debtor is a 

disabled veteran’’ and inserting the following: 

‘‘testing— 

‘‘(i) if the debtor is a disabled veteran’’, 

(3) by striking the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’, and 

(4) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(ii) with respect to the debtor, while the 

debtor is— 

‘‘(I) on, and during the 540-day period beginning immediately after the debtor is released from, a period of active duty (as defined in section 101(d)(1) of title 10) of not 

less than 90 days; or 

‘‘(II) performing, and during the 540-day period beginning immediately after the debtor 

is no longer performing, a homeland defense 

activity (as defined in section 901(1) of title 

32) performed for a period of not less than 90 

days; 

if after September 11, 2001, the debtor while 

a member of a reserve component of the 

Armed Forces or a member of the National 

Guard, was called to such active duty or performed such homeland defense activity.’’. 

SEC. 3. GAO STUDY. 

(a) COMPTROLLER GENERAL STUDY.—Not 

later than 2 years after the effective date of 

this Act, the Comptroller General shall complete and transmit to the Speaker of the 

House of Representatives and the President 

pro tempore of the Senate, a study of the use 

and the effects of the provisions of law 

amended (and as amended) by this Act. Such 

study shall address, at a minimum— 

(1) whether and to what degree members of 

reserve components of the Armed Forces and 

members of the National Guard avail themselves of the benefits of such provisions, 

(2) whether and to what degree such members are debtors in cases under title 11 of the 

United States Code that are substantially related to service that qualifies such members 

for the benefits of such provisions, 

(3) whether and to what degree such members are debtors in cases under such title 

that are materially related to such service, 

and 

(4) the effects that the use by such members of section 707(b)(2)(D) of such title, as 

amended by this Act, has on the bankruptcy 

system, creditors, and the debt-incurrence 

practices of such members. 

(b) FACTORS.—For purposes of subsection 

(a)— 

(1) a case shall be considered to be substantially related to the service of a member of 

a reserve component of the Armed Forces or 

a member of the National Guard that qualifies such member for the benefits of the provisions of law amended (and as amended) by 

this Act if more than 33 percent of the aggregate amount of the debts in such case is incurred as a direct or indirect result of such 

service, 

(2) a case shall be considered to be materially related to the service of a member of a 

reserve component of the Armed Forces or a 

member of the National Guard that qualifies 

such member for the benefits of such provisions if more than 10 percent of the aggregate amount of the debts in such case is incurred as a direct or indirect result of such 

service, and 

(3) the term ‘‘effects’’ means— 

(A) with respect to the bankruptcy system 

and creditors— 

(i) the number of cases under title 11 of the 

United States Code in which members of reserve components of the Armed Forces and 

members of the National Guard avail themselves of the benefits of such provisions, 

(ii) the aggregate amount of debt in such 

cases, 

(iii) the aggregate amount of debt of such 

members discharged in cases under chapter 7 

of such title, 

(iv) the aggregate amount of debt of such 

members in cases under chapter 7 of such 

title as of the time such cases are converted 

to cases under chapter 13 of such title, 

(v) the amount of resources expended by 

the bankruptcy courts and by the bankruptcy trustees, stated separately, in cases 

under title 11 of the United States Code in 

which such members avail themselves of the 

benefits of such provisions, and 

(vi) whether and to what extent there is 

any indicia of abuse or potential abuse of 

such provisions, and 

(B) with respect to debt-incurrence practices— 

(i) any increase in the average levels of 

debt incurred by such members before, during, or after such service, 

(ii) any indicia of changes in debt-incurrence practices adopted by such members in 

anticipation of benefitting from such provisions in any potential case under such title; 

and 

(iii) any indicia of abuse or potential abuse 

of such provisions reflected in the debt-incurrence of such members. 

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION OF 

AMENDMENTS. 

(a) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Except as provided in 

subsection (b), this Act and the amendments 

made by this Act shall take effect 60 days 

after the date of enactment of this Act. 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with HOUSE