Bankruptcy Reform Legislation

The Senate is about to pass bankruptcy reform legislation that the credit industry has been lobbying Congress to pass for years. The legislation will then go to the House. President Bush has said that he will sign it. The reform will make it more difficult for Americans to file for personal bankruptcy. It will create an income-based test to ascertain a debtor’s ability to repay debt, require credit counseling, and make it more costly to file for bankruptcy. Proponents say that this reform is long-overdue, but opponents say that changes in the law will hurt low-income earners. Christopher Cox, U.S. Congressman representing California’s 48th district, Xavier Becerra, U.S. Congressman representing California’s 31st district and Mark Markus, an attorney practicing exclusively bankruptcy law in Los Angeles, join Larry to discuss the bankruptcy reform legislation.