Fifteen years ago, Senate Republicans thanked Joe Biden for helping them pass a new bankruptcy law over the objections of consumer advocates and liberal Democrats. But this year, with millions of Americans out of work and buried under mounting home, medical and student loan debt, the former vice president changed his position on the 2005 bankruptcy law, saying that he supports many of the protections he rejected then, the Washington Post reported. As president, Biden says, he will push for letting people who enter bankruptcy discharge their student debts and protect the equity they have built in cars and homes. He embraced a plan put forth by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) that would also make more people eligible to file for bankruptcy and allow them to file without paying exorbitant legal fees. Those commitments may carry greater significance as experts are predicting a wave of bankruptcy filings from individuals and business owners who are burning through their savings and federal stimulus benefits, leaving them unable to pay their bills and make loan payments.
