The RIAA-sought provision makes it harder for musicians to use bankruptcy to escape their record contracts. In an interview, Tauscher said her staff wrote the remarks just before she spoke and that she was one of several lawmakers who banded together to oppose several proposed changes to the bill. It's not unusual when people find a cogent argument for something that they sound the same. Tauscher says her motive was to support the entertainment industry, an economic force in her home state. Through the first half of this year, however, she listed no contributions from RIAA through its PAC, lobbyists, or executives.
Recording artists oppose the provision changing the bankruptcy law.
Others included a guarantee that bankrupt parishioners could still tithe to their churches, a provision making it easier for landlords to evict bankrupt tenants, and language allowing credit card companies to collect more debt from bankrupt borrowers. McCollum says that before adding the provision, he listened to the RIAA's complaints but did not consult artists' representatives, who challenge industry claims. It does appear that the recording industry managed to obtain its provision with remarkable ease. From the industry's perspective, even a suggestion that an artist might file a bankruptcy petition signals trouble. That's what we complained about to Congress and Congress agreed some relief was appropriate.