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House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Rep. David N. Cicilline (D-R.I.), Chair of the Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law, last week introduced a bill that would give Americans overwhelmed by student loan debt the option of obtaining meaningful bankruptcy relief, according to a press release. The "Student Borrower Bankruptcy Relief Act of 2022" proposes to eliminate the section of the Bankruptcy Code that makes private and federal student loans nondischargeable, allowing these loans to be treated like nearly all other forms of consumer debt. "This legislation updates the federal bankruptcy code to ensure student loan debt is treated like almost every other form of consumer debt that can be discharged during bankruptcy,” said Chairman Nadler. Prospects for consideration in the House are favorable, but overall passage would be challenging given the narrow Democratic majority in the Senate and short amount of time left in the congressional session. Read the full press release.

For the latest legislative developments on bankruptcy and debt, be sure to visit the “Legislative News” section in the ABI Newsroom. 

President Joe Biden signed a short-term continuing resolution bill into law on Friday, averting a partial government shutdown, FederalNewsNetwork.com reported. The House passed the bill earlier in the afternoon. The Senate passed the CR on Thursday after Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) agreed to drop a provision in an earlier version of the CR that would streamline the permitting process for energy projects. The bill funds the federal government through Dec. 16 and gives Congress more time to work out a comprehensive spending package for the rest of fiscal 2023. The continuing resolution funds most federal agencies at current levels through mid-December, but provides additional funding to several agencies and programs. The CR includes a reauthorization of the Food and Drug Administration’s user fee agreements for an additional five years. That provision will prevent the agency from having to furlough more than 3,500 employees who work on approving drug and medical device applications.

The U.S. House of Representatives yesterday approved a bill that would sharply raise fees for antitrust reviews of the biggest mergers and strengthen state attorneys general in antitrust fights, Reuters reported. The bipartisan bill, which has yet to pass the U.S. Senate, combines a merger fee bill introduced by Representative Joe Neguse, a Democrat, and a measure to mandate that state attorneys general can pick the venue for antitrust lawsuits, which was introduced by Representative Ken Buck, a Republican. The bill, which passed the House 242-184, is one of several measures under consideration that would strengthen antitrust enforcers to rein in Big Tech. One bill would bar Big Tech companies like Alphabet's Google and Amazon.com from preferencing their own products on platforms while another addresses Apple's and Google's clout in their app stores. Hopes are dimming that they will become law this year. The legislation the House approved on Thursday would lower fees paid for antitrust reviews of smaller deals to as little as $30,000. Bigger deals would be more expensive. Deals worth $5 billion or more would pay $2.25 million for their review. A previous version of the filing fee bill had included budget increases for the U.S. Justice Department's Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission, but those have been removed, according to a congressional aide. The U.S. Senate has passed a bill giving state attorneys general the right to pick the venue for antitrust fights but has not passed a measure to update merger filing fees.

The Senate yesterday approved a short-term government funding bill, less than two days ahead of a looming shutdown deadline on Friday night, The Hill reported. Senators voted 72-25 to advance the bill, sending the must-pass legislation to the House, where it is expected to pass swiftly before heading to President Biden’s desk for signature. The bill, also known as a continuing resolution, will temporarily allow the government to remain funded at the current spending levels through mid-December, giving negotiators and leadership more time to work out a larger agreement over how to fund the government for fiscal 2023, which begins on Saturday. The legislation also includes more than $12 billion in security and financial assistance for Ukraine to defend itself from Russia’s ongoing invasion, as well as funding for disaster relief, following a White House request for emergency funding in both areas weeks back. However, the package excludes supplemental funding for the nation’s coronavirus and monkeypox response, despite a request by the White House for billions of dollars, over staunch GOP opposition.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) yesterday reintroduced the Consumer Bankruptcy Reform Act, bicameral legislation proposing to simplify and modernize the consumer bankruptcy system and make it easier for consumer debtors, according to a press release. Originally introduced in 2020, this legislation would replace the two separate consumer bankruptcy chapters known as chapters 7 and 13 with a single system available to all consumers, streamlining the filing process and reducing filing fees. The bill would also aim to ensure that families can care for themselves, their children, and their elderly parents during the bankruptcy process by helping renters with back rent avoid eviction, giving people a path to protect their homes and cars, and letting filers discharge local government fines. Read the full press release.

According to the press release, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law's hearing at 1 p.m. today will focus on the purported loopholes and abuses in the current consumer bankruptcy system and how the Consumer Bankruptcy Reform Act might provide improvements. Click here to watch a live webcast of the hearing at 1 p.m. ET.