April 12, 2005
(Washington, DC) – Representative Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) joined Representatives John Conyers (D-MI), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, in blasting the proposed Bankruptcy Reform bill at a press conference on Capitol Hill Today.
“This bill is the embodiment of a kind of moral bankruptcy we are seeing a lot of these days,” said Lee. “There is a lot of righteous posturing and talk of ‘values,’ but the policies we see, like this Bankruptcy Bill, aren’t just pulling the rugs out from under working people, they are kicking them when they are down.”
Lee pointed out that there is little evidence to back up credit card and banking industry claims that the bill is necessary to protect them from the abuses of consumers. Last year, the credit card and banking industries brought in a combined total of more than $130 billion in profits. More than 90 percent of all personal bankruptcies are the result of a lost job, a medical emergency or a divorce.
“Let’s be clear about what is going on here: the corporate contributors are getting their payoff at the expense of people who can least afford it, and it’s an outrage,” said Lee. “We should have a real debate reforming bankruptcy laws. If we are going to talk about curbing abuses, let’s start with getting rid of the loopholes that allow millionaires to hide their assets. Let’s talk about the predatory practices of companies that prey on consumers with bait and switch interest rates.”
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Barbara Lee Blasts Bankruptcy Bill
‘Reform’ Measure Kicks Working People When They Are Down
(Washington, DC) – Representative Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) joined Representatives John Conyers (D-MI), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, in blasting the proposed Bankruptcy Reform bill at a press conference on Capitol Hill Today.
“This bill is the embodiment of a kind of moral bankruptcy we are seeing a lot of these days,” said Lee. “There is a lot of righteous posturing and talk of ‘values,’ but the policies we see, like this Bankruptcy Bill, aren’t just pulling the rugs out from under working people, they are kicking them when they are down.”
Lee pointed out that there is little evidence to back up credit card and banking industry claims that the bill is necessary to protect them from the abuses of consumers. Last year, the credit card and banking industries brought in a combined total of more than $130 billion in profits. More than 90 percent of all personal bankruptcies are the result of a lost job, a medical emergency or a divorce.
“Let’s be clear about what is going on here: the corporate contributors are getting their payoff at the expense of people who can least afford it, and it’s an outrage,” said Lee. “We should have a real debate reforming bankruptcy laws. If we are going to talk about curbing abuses, let’s start with getting rid of the loopholes that allow millionaires to hide their assets. Let’s talk about the predatory practices of companies that prey on consumers with bait and switch interest rates.”
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