10/20/00
Senate Does Nothing on Bankruptcy Reform
As expected, the Senate yesterday passed the motion 89 to nothing to proceed on the bankruptcy reform bill (H.R. 2415). It is now expected that the Senator Wellstone (D-MN) will make known his intention to filibuster, which will then lead Senate Majority Leader Lott (R-Miss.) to file cloture to counter any filibuster. However, it now does not appear Senator Lott will file his cloture motion until Monday, October 23rd. Consequently, cloture will "ripen" later than predicted yesterday and, if cloture is invoked with the necessary 3/5 vote, pushes a possible vote on the bill until possibly late Thursday or even Friday of next week.
It is still expected that the President will then veto the legislation forcing Republicans to either accept his action or stay in during the last week prior to elections or come back.
Follow Up
As a follow up to the earlier update, opponents to the bankruptcy reform
bill, H.R. 2415, have indicated the 89 to nothing vote to proceed on the bill is deceiving. "We intend to do everything we can to defeat this legislation," according to Senator Wellstone (D-Minn.). Again, the Senate is expected to take up the bill the week of October 23rd, the final week of the 106th Congress. Senator Lott is now expected to file the cloture motion to limit debate on the bill on or about October 24th, indicating he wants the bankruptcy bill the last item the Senate considers before adjourning. At a news conference late yesterday, Wellstone asserted that the need for bankruptcy reform is no longer pressing since the number of bankruptcy filings are down and, according to Wellstone, only about 3% of the bankruptcies can be considered an abuse of the current laws of debt forgiveness. At the same conference, Senator Kennedy (D-Mass.) exclaimed that the bill, "would do a huge favor to the credit card industry."
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TMA is committed to providing the most recent legislative actions affecting the corporate renewal industry. The following updates are provided by TMA's Legislative Consultant, David P. Goch, of Webster, Chamberlain & Bean in Washington, DC. Please contact David at dgoch@wc-b.com or (202) 785-9500 for more information or specific questions about the legislative information provided below.