Farmer Bankruptcy Protection –
Senate Wed. Night Passes 6-Month Extension,
Sending Bill To President’s Desk

6 p.m. Wed., Nov. 20

 Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy
On H.R. 5472, Family Farmer Bankruptcy Protection

November 20, 2002

[Leahy led efforts in the Senate to pass this six-month extension and also has pushed for a permanent extension.  Leahy chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, which handles bankruptcy law matters.  The bill now goes to President Bush, and Leahy said the President will sign it.]

Mr. LEAHY.  Mr. President, I am pleased that the Senate is passing H.R. 5472, to extend family farmer bankruptcy protection until July 1, 2003.

Unfortunately, too many family farmers have been left in legal limbo in bankruptcy courts across the country because Chapter 12 of the Bankruptcy Code is a still a temporary measure. This is the fifth time that this Congress must act to restore or extend basic bankruptcy safeguards for family farmers because Chapter 12 is still a temporary provision despite its first passage into law in 1986.  Our family farmers do not deserve these lapses in bankruptcy law that could mean the difference between foreclosure and farming.

In 2000 and 2001, for example, the Senate, then controlled by the other party, failed to take up a House-passed bill to retroactively renew Chapter 12 and, as a result, family farmers lost Chapter 12 bankruptcy protection for 8 months. Another lapse of Chapter 12 lasted more than 6 months in this Congress.  Enough is enough.  It is time for Congress to make Chapter 12 a permanent part of the Bankruptcy Code to provide a stable safety net for our nation=s family farmers.

I strongly supported Senator Carnahan=s bipartisan amendment to make Chapter 12 a permanent part of the Bankruptcy Code as part of the Senate-passed farm bill.  The Senate unanimously approved the Carnahan amendment by a 93-0 vote.  Unfortunately, the House majority objected to including the Carnahan amendment in the farm bill conference report and agreed to an extension of Chapter 12 only through the end of this year.

In the bipartisan bankruptcy reform conference, we again tried to make Chapter 12 permanent and update and expand its coverage.   During our conference negotiations, we adopted most of the Senate‑passed provisions, including those authored by Senator Grassley to make Chapter 12 permanent and those authored by Senator Feingold to strengthen Chapter 12 to help our family farmers with the difficulties they face.  Just last week, however, the House majority again scuttled our bipartisan efforts by failing to pass the rule to consider the bipartisan conference report on the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act. 

This week, Senator Grassley and I introduced the family farmer provisions in the bipartisan bankruptcy conference report in S. 3174, the “Protection of Family Farmers and Family Fisherman Act of 2002.”  Our bipartisan bill makes Chapter 12 a permanent part of the Bankruptcy Code so family farmer bankruptcy protection will no longer lapse and force farmers into a legal limbo.  Family farmers deserve these enhanced and permanent protections to help them prevent foreclosures and forced auctions. I know Senator Grassley, Senator Carnahan, Senator Feingold and others on both sides of the aisle strongly support permanent and expanded bankruptcy protection for family farmers. I hope the Senate and the House will quickly pass our bipartisan bill in the next Congress.

In the meantime, I look forward to the President signing into law this legislation to extend basic bankruptcy protection for our family farmers through the first six months of next year.

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