Under current law, bankruptcy filers may file under Chapter 7 and be absolved of all debt, or file under Chapter 13, preventing repossession of property but agreeing to repay some or all of their debt. H.R. 833 institutes a needs-based formula to steer more debtors into Chapter 13 and thereby require greater debt repayment. There is record low unemployment and low inflation. Filing Chapter Seven should not be as easy as shopping Seven-Eleven. At the same time, we must maintain protections for people with legitimate catastrophic problems.
Many people suddenly find themselves out of work or facing huge medical bills.
They deserve our help. Roemer noted the measure makes several changes to protect consumers. It requires that child support and alimony payments be paid first in every bankruptcy case, rather than last as they are now. The measure also protects retirement savings from creditors. And the legislation requires credit card issuers to make disclosures regarding minimum monthly payments and how long it would take to pay off the credit card by making only the minimum monthly payment.