Originally scheduled for tomorrow at 2 p.m. EDT, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law has moved the hearing titled "Oversight of Bankruptcy Law and Legislative Proposals" to next Tuesday, June 25, at 10 a.m. EDT. Robert J. Keach of Bernstein Shur (Portland, Maine), a former ABI President and co-chair of the ABI Commission to Study the Reform of Chapter 11, will testify on ABI's behalf. The hearing will examine a number of bills and priority issues important to business and consumer bankruptcy practice. Most of the bills enjoy bipartisan and bicameral support in Congress. The following are the legislation and issues to be discussed:
- The Small Business Reorganization Act (S. 1091) takes into account recommendations from ABI's Chapter 11 Commission to remove barriers to bankruptcy for financially struggling small and medium-sized businesses.
- The Family Farmer Relief Act of 2019 (H.R. 2236; S. 897) is supported by ABI to raise the debt cap to $10 million for family farmers seeking chapter 12 protection.
- Honoring American Veterans in Extreme Need Act of 2019 (HAVEN Act) (H.R. 2938; S. 679) would exclude VA and DoD disability payments from the monthly income calculation used for bankruptcy means testing. The law currently allows Social Security benefits to be excluded from the calculation, but not veterans disability payments. ABI's Veterans’ Affairs Task Force member Holly Petraeus is scheduled to testify.
- Puerto Rico Recovery Accuracy in Disclosures Act of 2019 (PRRADA) (H.R. 683; S. 1675) would impose certain requirements on the payment of compensation to professional persons employed in voluntary cases commenced under PROMESA.
For further information on the hearing and to obtain forthcoming witness testimony, please click here.
