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ABI’s Legislation Committee had an active year in 2021. We tracked legislation and provided guidance for ABI members, published two newsletters, and hosted engaging panels at the Annual Spring Meeting and Winter Leadership Conference. We also have planned a webinar on the SBRA, and held a virtual happy hour at WLC for membership engagement.
We believe 2022 will also have robust legislative activity, and we look forward to continuing to provide guidance and other valuable content to members. Please see below for more information about our activities in 2021.
As many practitioners already know, it can be enormously difficult for student loan borrowers to discharge their loans in bankruptcy. But through a combination of new case law, potential upcoming administrative action and a series of bankruptcy reform bills, it might be getting just a little bit easier for some student loan borrowers.
Recent Case Shows It’s Not Impossible to Discharge Student Loans in Bankruptcy
One of the most popular support programs developed through the enactment of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). This program was administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) through participating lenders throughout the U.S.
Chapter 12 was added to the Bankruptcy Code in 1986 in response to the farm crisis of the 1980s. Chapter 12 became a permanent part of the Code in 2005. For many reasons, farmers have continued to struggle in the intervening years, causing this chapter to be more relevant than ever. In 2016, farm real estate debt surpassed the 1981 peak. In 2019, commodity prices were 50 percent lower than their peak in 2012, and the weather in 2019 — including massive Midwest floods — prevented American famers from planting 19.6 million acres of crops, more than double any other year since the U.S.
On Jan. 12, 2021, President Donald J. Trump signed the “Bankruptcy Administration Improvement Act of 2020” into law. The bipartisan legislation was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and cosponsored by Sens. Christopher A. Coons (D-Del.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Thomas R. Carper (D-Del.). The Bankruptcy Administration Improvement Act of 2020 moved quickly through Congress, with passage in the Senate on Dec. 9, 2020, and passage in the House on Dec. 21, 2020.
H.R. 133, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, is a proposed $2.3 trillion spending bill that combines $900 billion in stimulus relief for the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States with a $1.4 trillion omnibus spending bill for the 2021 federal fiscal year. On Dec. 21, 2020, by a vote of 92-6, the Senate approved the House amendment to the Senate amendments, thus formally resolving the two chambers’ differences on the bill. On Dec. 24, 2020, H.R. 133 was formally presented to the President for signature; on Dec. 27, 2020, the President formally signed H.R. 133 into law.
ABI’s Legislation Committee had a very active year in 2020. We tracked legislation and provided guidance for ABI members, presented a very well-attended webinar about chapter 12, published numerous newsletters, and hosted a well-regarded panel at the Winter Leadership Conference and a virtual happy hour for membership engagement. Information about our 2020 activities is outlined below. We believe 2021 will also have robust legislative activity, and we look forward to continuing to provide guidance and other valuable content to members.
