"We are watching you," warns National Organization for Women Executive Vice President Kim Gandy to U.S. senators and powerful credit card companies that are pursuing the so-called Bankruptcy Reform Act. "If you enrich financial bigwigs, at the expense of pensioners and single mothers trying to collect child support, you will answer to the voters in November." The changes would further empower wealthy creditors and limit consumer rights under federal bankruptcy law.
One particularly onerous section of the bill would allow lenders to require, as a condition of receiving a loan or obtaining credit, that a borrower give up the traditional protection of her pension benefits in the event of a future bankruptcy. "These institutions are just out of control. They've gotten so greedy that they're ready to steal from our grandmothers," said Gandy.
"For many women, child support payments are the only thing keeping their families out of poverty – and this bill will make it even more difficult to collect. Women and children will suffer," Gandy said. Statistics show that women are the fastest growing segment of the public declaring bankruptcy -- often in the wake of divorce or financial reversals such as job loss or serious illness.
Even though some Members – on both sides of the issue – say that new language in the bankruptcy bill protects payment of child support obligations, it does not. In reality, other types of debts are given priority in S. 625/H.R. 833 -- and provisions which make fewer debts dischargeable mean that payment of child support obligations is going to be much more difficult.
Finally, NOW is particularly concerned that some senators are attempting to water down the impact of the Clinic Violence Amendment. That amendment is targeted at violent anti-abortion activists who would use a loophole in current law to hide assets and use bankruptcy in order to avoid paying legal fines, damages and related court fees. The Senate passed the amendment by 80 - 17; but, anti-abortion senators have let it be known that they would like to eliminate the amendment.
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