See United States v. Ordinarily, liens and other secured interests survive bankruptcy. Congress generally preserved this principle when it comprehensively revised bankruptcy law with the Bank- ruptcy Reform Act of 1978, Pub. But Congress also revised the law to permit the debtor to avoid the fixing of some liens. What specific legislative history exists suggests that a principal reason Congress singled out judicial liens was be- cause they are a device commonly used by creditors to defeat the protection bankruptcy law accords exempt property against debts.
Bankruptcy exists to provide relief for an overburdened debtor.
H. R. Rep. No. 595, supra, at 126-127. Prior to its repeal, 67a invalidated any lien ob- tained on an exempt interest of an insolvent debtor within four months of the bankruptcy filing. The Bankruptcy Re- form Act eliminated the insolvency and timing requirements. It is possible that Congress simply decided to leave exemp- tions exposed despite its longstanding policy against doing so. Neither party con- tends otherwise.