Copyright 2001 Chicago Sun-Times, Inc.
Chicago
Sun-Times
August 8, 2001 Wednesday, Final Markets
Edition
SECTION: NEWS SPECIAL EDITION; Pg. 4
LENGTH: 320 words
HEADLINE:
Credit card industry's hopes on Biden
SOURCE: Bloomberg
News
BYLINE: Bob Gravely
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
BODY:
Credit card industry lobbyists led by Bank One's First USA say they are
confident that Sen. Joe Biden will deliver the tightening of U.S. bankruptcy
laws they've been seeking for four years.
Biden, who represents
Delaware, the home state of MBNA Corp., First USA Bank and other credit card
companies, has become the swing vote among 13 senators who'll try to negotiate
with House counterparts a final version of legislation to force more consumers
to repay credit card and other unsecured debt.
"Biden is the linchpin,"
said Travis Plunkett, a lobbyist for the Consumer Federation of America, a group
that opposes the bill as being too harsh on debtors. Industry lobbyists say they
are counting on Biden, a Democrat, to vote with Republicans to keep the bill
intact, and fend off Democrats' efforts to add consumer protections that the
industry opposes.
"We're pretty optimistic it's going to pass pretty
quickly," said Joe Rubin, who lobbies Congress on the issue for the U.S. Chamber
of Commerce.
Negotiations with the House over the bankruptcy bill are
set to begin next month. Supporters hope to have the bill to President Bush
before the end of the year. The Senate passed the bankruptcy bill 83-15 in
March, two weeks after the House passed its version of the measure on a 306-108
vote.
House and Senate negotiators trying to meld the two versions into
a single bill must resolve two tricky issues. One issue involves capping the
amount of home equity debtors could shield from creditors during
bankruptcy; the other aims to prevent those convicted of
committing violence at abortion clinics from using
bankruptcy to escape financial liability and court costs.
The National Retail Federation estimates the bill would affect 11
percent of all bankruptcy cases and force consumers to repay an additional
$11 billion in debt annually that otherwise would be
discharged.
Bloomberg News
LOAD-DATE:
August 31, 2001 
