Copyright 2002 The Washington Post
The Washington
Post
February 25, 2002, Monday, Final Edition
SECTION: A SECTION; Pg. A21
LENGTH: 759 words
HEADLINE:
Bankruptcy Reform Bill in Trouble Again
BYLINE: Dan
Morgan and Juliet Eilperin, Washington Post Staff Writers
BODY:
You have to admire the sheer stamina
of some aides, lobbyists and members of Congress. Consider those who never give
up hope that bankruptcy reform legislation will someday be signed into law.
"Bankruptcy," as it is known in Hill shorthand, has sprouted a few gray
hairs by now. It has been passed by both chambers of Congress numerous times
since its saga began in 1997. In December 2000, it made it all the way to the
White House. But there -- perhaps to the delight of dozens of lobbyists who have
made a good living off it -- it died by virtue of President Bill Clinton's
pocket veto. For a while it seemed 2001 would be its year. The Bankruptcy Abuse
Prevention and Consumer Protection Act, which would make it more difficult for
heavily indebted individuals to hide from creditors, has been a priority of
financial service companies and is popular with business. There was a GOP
businessman in the White House and a pro-business mood in Congress.
The
bill that passed in 2000 was dusted off, and it whizzed through the House on
March 1, 306 to 108. Four months later, the Senate overwhelmingly approved it,
82 to 16. All that remained was for House and Senate conferees to iron out a few
differences and send it to President Bush for a signature.
But it is
never that simple with bankruptcy.
Just last week, with Congress away,
negotiations between House and Senate staffers ground on behind closed doors,
and lobbyists got in their two bits. Recently, it has been the American Bar
Association, which is concerned about provisions that could result in fines or
loss of fees for bankruptcy attorneys who fail to disclose all of a client's
assets.
Meanwhile, Hill staffers and members have begun making jokes
about the legislation -- never a good sign.
"It's the kind of thing that
if Sartre were alive, he would have thought it up," said a House aide. "I must
have done something really bad in a previous life to have gotten involved with
this bill."
Joking aside, there are substantive reasons why bankruptcy
reform has bogged down, officials say.
"The longer it's out there, the
more people are reading it," said a Democratic critic. "That isn't good for the
bill."
Democrats contend that its provisions make it tougher for
vulnerable populations, including single parents and poor families, to shield
income from creditors that they desperately need to pay for essentials of daily
life.
The Texas and Florida congressional delegations, citing state
constitutions, have insisted on substantial exemptions from
bankruptcy seizures for private homes. Antiabortion groups want
protections for abortion clinic picketers facing lawsuits and
legal judgments.
Meanwhile, the faltering economy and fears of
bankruptcies resulting from the devastation at ground zero in Manhattan have
caused business support to cool, congressional aides say.
All in all,
they add, it's anyone's guess whether bankruptcy will make it this year.
POPULATION FUND DISPUTE: Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) will
spotlight a growing dispute with the administration over U.S. funding for
international family planning assistance at a hearing Wednesday of a Senate
Foreign Affairs Committee panel.
Under an agreement worked out last year
between the House, Senate and White House, the president can spend as much as $
34 million this year for the United Nations Population Fund. But antiabortion
conservatives have asked the White House to hold off spending the money as a
protest against China's population control methods.
Critics say the
United Nations implicitly condones China's policy of forced abortions and
sterilization by funding projects there, but agency officials say they support
only voluntary programs and do not fund abortions.
Boxer, in a letter
last month to Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage, called it
"unconscionable" that the administration would allow politics to stand in the
way of saving lives.
But House leaders have been lobbying behind the
scenes to zero out the program. Last week, they wrote President Bush that
funding it would send "the wrong message to the Chinese government."
"The administration has the right to interpret the regulation," said
John Feehery, spokesman for House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.).
THE WEEK AHEAD: The Senate this week takes up an election law
overhaul bill and will then resume debate on the energy bill. It may also take
up campaign finance reform legislation. The House is to consider a
telecommunication reform bill.
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