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The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 833) to amend title 11 of the United States Code, and for further purposes:

• Mrs. MINK of Hawaii. Mr. Chairman, I rise to express my opposition to the passage of H.R. 833, the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1999. I will vote `No' on final passage, not because I believe that the bankruptcy system doesn't need reformulation, but because H.R. 833 is an unbalanced piece of legislation which does not offer the flexibility to accommodate the diverse circumstances confronted by debtors and bankruptcy courts.

• The American Bankruptcy system was designed to give individuals who found themselves in insurmountable debt the chance to start over again. H.R. 833 threatens the promise of a fresh start by forcing the myriad situations debtors face into a narrow, rigid formula. The strict, Internal Revenue Service ``means test'' used to calculate the average monthly expenses for all debtors does not even account for regional income and cost of living differences. In my own state of Hawaii, the cost of living is high. This provision will unjustly penalize my constituents who seek bankruptcy relief because their actual, higher living costs will be ignored. H.R. 833's proponents consistently refused proposals to create a more flexible means test.

• H.R. 833 strips bankruptcy judges of the power to determine that exceptional circumstances exist in certain cases and adjust monthly expense allowances to accommodate such situations. Instead of seeking to find the best course of action to help debtors become solvent, H.R. 833, as amended, allows bankruptcy trustees who transfer their clients' petitions from Chapter 7 to Chapter 13 to be paid for doing so. This is bad, lop-sided policy.

• H.R. 833 rewards credit card companies' practice of pushing easy credit on debt heavy clients. They are the only winners in this debate. The policy to force more debtors from Chapter 7 bankruptcy into Chapter 13 bankruptcy benefits only those creditors whose debts are dischargeable in Chapter 7 and not under Chapter 13: Credit Card Companies. H.R. 833 makes credit card debt nondischargeable under Chapter 13 and puts these debts in the same category as child support and alimony payments.

• I believe that people should be held personally accountable for their debts. I voted Yes on the substitute bill offered by Congressman NADLER, which would have reformed bankruptcy provisions in a fair, balanced manner. I regret that Mr. NADLER's restructuring substitute did not pass. I voted to pass the amendment offered by the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee, Congressman HENRY HYDE and Congressman JOHN CONYERS which created a flexible method of computing a debtor's monthly living expenses by providing guidelines to account for extenuating circumstances. This bipartisan amendment balanced a creditor biased bill. The Hyde-Conyers amendment also failed.

• As the bill stands, I am unable to vote for it.

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