Bankruptcy Bill Snagged by Abortion Debate
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The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday held its first hearing on the legislation in four years. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., recently said the proposal was a priority for the new Congress, and the committee could approve it by next week. “The vast majority of people believe that individuals who file for bankruptcy should be required to pay back some of their debts if they have the means to do so,” the bill’s author, GOP Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, said at the hearing. “This is precisely what the bankruptcy reform legislation does.” Banks, credit card companies and retailers have pushed for this plan since 1997. Consumer and civil rights groups and unions say the legislation is unfair to low-income working people, single mothers, minorities and the elderly, and would remove a safety net for those who have lost their jobs or face mounting medical bills. Democrats, meanwhile, want to the bill to prohibit protesters from using bankruptcy to avoid paying court fines for blocking abortion clinics (search) if the demonstrators knowingly violated the law. |