Carol St. Clair
EB 3889
713-853-3989 (Phone)
713-646-3393 (Fax)
carol.st.clair@enron.com
----- Forwarded by Carol St Clair/HOU/ECT on 04/24/2001 08:44 AM -----

	Chris Long@ENRON
	04/24/2001 08:33 AM
		 
		 To: Mark Taylor/HOU/ECT@ECT, Carol St Clair/HOU/ECT@ECT, Teresa G 
Bushman/HOU/ECT@ECT
		 cc: Linda Robertson/NA/Enron@ENRON, Larry Decker/NA/Enron@Enron
		 Subject: Bankrutpcy Update


No. 79 
Tuesday April 24, 2001	Page A-33 
	ISSN 1523-567X
	Regulation, Law & Economics
	
	BankruptcyDaschle Says Bankruptcy Reform Stuck 
As Party Roles in Conference Still in Limbo

Bankruptcy legislation (S. 420/H.R. 333) that separately passed the Senate 
and House earlier this spring remains in limbo, as the Senate still cannot 
agree on how to proceed to conference with the House, Senate Minority Leader 
Thomas Daschle (D-S.D.) told reporters April 23. 
The question of party representation in conference continues to stall efforts 
to bring the issue of bankruptcy reform to a close. Democrats, who occupy 
half of the Senate's seats, are insisting upon equal representation in 
conference, while Republicans oppose it. 
Efforts to forego a conference with the House are unlikely to succeed given 
House leadership concerns about a number of controversial amendments the 
Senate made to S. 420 before passing it. In particular, many Republicans 
object to provisions opposed by President Bush that are intended to make it 
harder for debtors to shield assets by purchasing expensive homes in states 
that bar creditors from seizing the homes in bankruptcy auctions. 
"There has been no resolution yet," Daschle said. "I would say that I think 
both [Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.)] and I and our staffs are 
working to try to resolve his concern, which is what do you do in a tie ... 
You know, I think what happens in a tie is [that] you just keep talking until 
you break the tie." 
Daschle said he is looking for an "opportunity to break through," but has yet 
to find one. Regardless, Daschle said he does not think "tie votes are all 
that big a problem, either in conference or in committee." 
With Daschle voting in the affirmative, the Senate March 14 approved 80-19 a 
cloture motion Lott filed late March 12. Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.), the 
bill's most outspoken opponent, argued passionately against cloture and Sen. 
Harry Reid (D-Nev.) foiled an attempt by Lott to secure unanimous consent to 
prepare the bill for a conference with House members after the bill passed 
the Senate March 15. 
In general, the bills aim to force more bankruptcy filers to file under 
Chapter 13, which requires some repayment of debts, instead of Chapter 7. The 
bills are a copy of last year's conference report worked out between the 
House and the Senate, which former President Clinton pocket-vetoed in 
December. 


Copyright , 2001 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., Washington D.C.