T he U.S. Constitution grants Congress the authority "to establish . . . uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States." Pursuant to that authority, Congress has enacted a statute called the " Bankruptcy Code " which, along with other sources of law, governs bankruptcies in the United States. The Bankruptcy Code generally attempts to balance two competing policy concerns. On the one hand, bankruptcy aims to give honest debtors a "fresh start"—that is, to grant debtors relief from certain debts they cannot repay—so that they may "reorder their affairs, make peace with their creditors, and enjoy 'a new opportunity in life with a clear field for future effort, unhampered by the pressure and discouragement of preexisting debt.'" This fresh start generally comes in the form of a " discharge " of many forms of the debtor's debts, which consists of "a legal right not to pay" the discharged debts as well as "safeguards against harassment by the creditor" whose debt is discharged. At the same time, however, the bankruptcy system also attempts to maximize total creditor return by distributing a subset of the debtor's assets or income to creditors in an orderly, equitable, and efficient fashion. Thus, "Congress and the judiciary are constantly striving to achieve a wise balance between" offering "a fresh start for debtors" and ensuring "fairness to creditors." To that end, Congress has frequently amended the Bankruptcy Code since its initial enactment in 1978 in an attempt to recalibrate that balance. Because recent estimates indicate that "over a million people file bankruptcy every year," bankruptcy law is vitally important to Congress and the nation as a whole. This report accordingly provides a primer for Members and their staffs on the basics of U.S. bankruptcy law. In so doing, the report provides a broad overview of the most essential concepts necessary for an informed understanding of the U.S. bankruptcy system, including the competing policies underlying the Bankruptcy Code; the sources of bankruptcy law; the organization of the Bankruptcy Code; the key players in a bankruptcy proceeding; the initiation of a bankruptcy case; the "automatic stay" of creditor actions against the debtor; the various types of proceedings established by different "Chapters" of the Bankruptcy Code, as well as the differences between those proceedings; and the discharge of debt. As noted above, the Bankruptcy Code is the primary source of bankruptcy law in the United States. The Bankruptcy Code is codified at Title 11 of the United States Code and is divided into nine distinct "Chapters." The first three Chapters—Chapter 1 (General Provisions), Chapter 3 (Case Administration), and Chapter 5 (Creditors, the Debtor, and the Estate) —contain provisions that are generally applicable to most bankruptcy cases. The remaining Chapters, which this report discusses below, create different types of bankruptcy proceedings for different types of debtors. The Bankruptcy Code is not, however, the only source of U.S. bankruptcy law. For one, the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, which are "rules promulgated by the U.S. Supreme Court (on the recommendation of the U.S. Judicial Conference and its committees, and with the consent of Congress)," "provide a substantial set of procedural rules" that govern bankruptcy proceedings in the United States. Many courts have supplemented the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure by promulgating their own local procedural rules and orders that govern bankruptcy cases in their respective districts. The Judicial Conference of the United States has also promulgated official bankruptcy forms that litigants must use as templates when filing certain kinds of documents in a bankruptcy case. Other federal laws can impact bankruptcy cases as well. For example, both the U.S. Code and the U.S. Constitution restrict the types of issues that a bankruptcy judge may adjudicate. Additionally, "certain sections of the Bankruptcy Code . . . expressly incorporate state law, which is often different from state to state." Although many types of people and entities can potentially play critical roles in a bankruptcy proceeding, several participants in the bankruptcy process are particularly important. Perhaps the most important participants are the debtor (who seeks relief from debts he cannot repay) and the creditors (who seek to promptly and efficiently collect as much of their debts as they can). Of equal importance is the bankruptcy judge , who generally presides over the bankruptcy proceeding; reviews and rules upon filings submitted by participants in the bankruptcy case; resolves certain types of disputes between the parties; and performs other similar duties. The U.S. Courts of Appeals appoint bankruptcy judges to serve "as judicial officers of the United States district court[s] established under Article III of the Constitution" for fourteen-year terms. Unlike U.S. District Judges, however, bankruptcy judges "enjoy neither tenure during good behavior nor salary protection," and therefore do not exercise "the judicial power of the United States" as defined in Article III of the U.S. Constitution. As a consequence, both the U.S. Code and the U.S. Constitution restrict a bankruptcy judge's authority to adjudicate certain matters. Serving as "an auxiliary to the Bankruptcy Court" is the United States Trustee , who, among other duties, oversees bankruptcy cases in most jurisdictions in order "to prevent fraud, dishonesty, and overreaching in the bankruptcy system." The United States Trustee works "under the general supervision of the Attorney General" of the United States, who "provide[s] general coordination and assistance to the United States trustees." Not to be confused with the United States Trustee is the case trustee , whose role in the bankruptcy proceeding differs depending on which Chapter of the Bankruptcy Code the bankruptcy case proceeds under. Some Chapters contemplate a major role for the case trustee; other Chapters contemplate that a case trustee will have no role in the proceeding whatsoever absent exceptional circumstances. A case trustee who is appointed in a case under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code is known as the "Chapter 7 trustee"; a case trustee appointed in a Chapter 13 case is known as the "Chapter 13 trustee," and so forth. This report discusses the case trustee's respective roles under each Chapter below. A debtor may declare bankruptcy by filing a document known as a bankruptcy "petition" with the clerk of the bankruptcy court. In addition to the petition, most debtors must also file a schedule of the debtor's assets and liabilities; a schedule of the debtor's current income and expenditures; a statement of the debtor's financial affairs; and other required documents. These filing requirements "are carefully designed to elicit certain information necessary to the proper administration and adjudication of the case" and to "ensure that there is adequate information available to the debtor's creditors" to facilitate the fair and efficient distribution of the debtor's income or assets. Depending on the debtor's financial circumstances, the debtor may also be required to pay a filing fee. Filing a petition in the bankruptcy court creates a bankruptcy " estate " that, subject to certain exceptions, is "comprised of the debtor's property as of the commencement of the case." The assets in the bankruptcy estate are generally used "to satisfy claims of creditors and costs of the proceedings." Importantly, however, certain types of property are either not included in the estate or may otherwise be removed from the reach of creditors. For instance, property that the debtor acquires after filing his bankruptcy petition is, with some exceptions, "generally not property of the estate." Furthermore, the Bankruptcy Code and applicable state law may allow an individual debtor to " exempt " certain categories of assets from the property of the estate and thereby insulate those assets from the claims of creditors. For example, depending on the circumstances, an individual debtor may be able to claim articles of clothing, certain medical equipment, and/or his residence as exempt from the claims of creditors. Permitting an individual debtor to claim certain assets as exempt "allow[s] a debtor to protect property which is necessary for the survival of both the debtor and the debtor's family." Note, however, that a non -individual debtor, such as a corporation or other business entity, may not declare property as exempt. Filing for bankruptcy affords the debtor several immediate benefits. Perhaps most importantly, "the filing of a bankruptcy petition stays the commencement or continuation of all nonbankruptcy judicial proceedings against the debtor"; precludes creditors from undertaking "any act to collect, assess, or recover a claim against the debtor that arose before the commencement of the case"; and, with certain exceptions, prohibits creditors from taking almost any action "against the debtor or the property of the estate." These protections are collectively known as the " automatic stay ." The stay is "automatic" because "it operates without the necessity for judicial intervention"; it "is triggered upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition regardless of whether the other parties to the stayed proceeding are aware that a petition has been filed." The automatic stay generally remains in effect until the bankruptcy court closes the case, dismisses the case, or grants the debtor a discharge, whichever comes first. "The policy underlying the automatic stay is to protect the debtor's estate from 'the chaos and wasteful depletion resulting from multifold, uncoordinated and possibly conflicting litigation'" that could occur in the absence of the stay. "The automatic stay provides debtors a breathing spell from creditors by preventing 'all collection efforts, all harassment, and all foreclosure actions.'" "The stay protects creditors, too, by precluding certain 'creditors from acting unilaterally in self-interest to obtain payment from a debtor to the detriment of other creditors.'" A creditor who knowingly violates the automatic stay—such as by attempting to collect a debt the debtor owes to him —does so at his peril. "An individual injured by any willful violation of" the automatic stay may potentially "recover actual damages" against the violator, "including costs and attorneys' fees, and, in appropriate circumstances, may recover punitive damages."