Bankruptcy Bill Introduced Today & Bobfest (Wi)

[paineinthearse]

Blogged by JC on 09.08.05 @ 09:52 PM ET

Bankruptcy Bill Introduced Today
Travel to Madison WI, Tomorrow Evening

I introduced the Katrina Bankruptcy Relief Bill, joined by 31 Democratic Colleagues (full list below in extended entry). As noted yesterday, the bill has been extensively covered, even before introduction...

I introduced the Katrina Bankruptcy Relief Bill, joined by 31 Democratic Colleagues (full list below in extended entry). As noted yesterday, the bill has been extensively covered, even before introduction. I am also including in the extended entry a good exchange on the issue on CNN today. It was also covered quite a bit on the Al Franken Show, and we expect him to talk about it every day next week in an effort to drum up more support in Congress for this common sense meansure. Among other things, what we are saying in the bill is that if you are no longer earning income because of the Hurricane, you should not have to count that income for bankruptcy purposes. Seems pretty fair to me, but we will see whether Congress is willing to put Hurricane victims before credit card companies.

What we are seeing as of late, is that previous actions taken by the GOP are coming back to bite them, often illustrated by their votes on amendments. For example, when the Homeland Security bill was approved three years ago, Democrats tried to keep FEMA as a cabinet level agency, but the Republicans voted no. When the bankruptcy bill was approved earlier this year, Democrats offered amendments to protect victims of natural disasters, but again, the GOP voted no.

Finally, I will be flying to Madison Wisconsin for a fundraiser for me and Bernie Sanders tomorrow evening and than on Saturday to speak at the "Fighting Bobfest" in honor of the great progressive Bob LaFollette. Please feel free to come to either or both events (or let your friends in Wisconsin know about them). More info in the box at end.

The full list of original cosponsors is as follows:

Mr. Conyers: Mr. Watt; Ms. Jackson Lee; Mr. Nadler; Mr. Taylor of Mississippi; Mr. Kucinich; Mr. Moran; Ms. Maloney; Ms. Wasserman Schultz; Ms. Lee; Ms. Linda Sanchez; Ms. Carson; Ms. Davis of California; Ms. Lofgren; Mr. Crowley; Mr. Serrano; Mr. Scott; Ms. Woolsey; Ms. McCollum; Mr. Rothman; Mr. Grijalva; Mr. Meehan; Mr. Blumenauer; Mr. Berman; Mr. Delahunt; Ms. Schakowsky; Mr. Emanule; Mr. McDermott; Mr. Sanders; Mr. Udall of New Mexico; Ms. Watson; and, Mrs. Capps

CNN Interview:

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: To the southeast of downtown New Orleans, the water is starting to recede in St. Bernard parish, one of the areas worst hit by the flooding. Search teams are recovering bodies. They're also still bringing people out alive. Some people have spent the last week struggling to survive, waiting to be rescued. Others, whose homes were not so badly damaged, well, they say they want to stay right where they are.

…

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Well, as it turns out, maybe it wasn't a great time to change the bankruptcy laws. Andy Serwer is here with that and more.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Well, they couldn't have known, Miles. But this is possibly some very bad news for those hurt the most by Hurricane Katrina.

The new bankruptcy law goes into effect October 17. And basically, as you may remember, it makes it tougher for those people hurt and in trouble to file for bankruptcy.

Here are the problems though. Here are some of the new provisions of the new bankruptcy law. Income based on previous six months' pay. Well, what if you file in November, and you haven't worked for two months? That's going to knock you down.

Tax returns and pay stubs required. Well, what if your paperwork is in the Gulf of Mexico?

And then mandatory credit counseling at your own expense. Well, what if you don't have any money?

There was a move afoot, Miles, to exempt people hurt by natural disasters, but Congress put the kabash (ph) on that.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, maybe they might have to put a kabash on the kabash. What do you think?

SERWER: I think that's a very good way of putting it.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

SERWER: And this may seem obvious, but there are new studies out that shows that people in states hit by natural disasters like hurricanes and earthquakes file for bankruptcy at a rate twice that of states that haven't. So obviously, you know, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out a lot of people are feeling the hurt. M. O'BRIEN: These people need some relief. Let's hope that Congress considers that.

SERWER: Do the right thing.

M. O'BRIEN: Do the right thing out there.

SERWER: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: People, not process.

SERWER: Right.

M. O'BRIEN: That's the theme of the morning here. Let's go to Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, Miles, thanks.

http://www.madison.com/tct/opinion/index.php?ntid=53326&ntpid=1

John Nichols: Sanders to be a highlight of Bob Fest

By John Nichols
September 8, 2005

Fighting Bob Fest, the annual celebration of progressive politics and activism that will be held Saturday in Baraboo, takes its name from Robert M. La Follette, the former Wisconsin governor and senator, who proved that one man or woman can have a dramatic impact on essential public policy debates. But is it still true that adding an individual voice, particularly that of a radical independent with no party loyalties, can change the course of the debate in Washington? U.S. Rep. Bernie Sanders of Vermont thinks so. The only independent member of the House, and a front-running candidate for the Green Mountain State's open U.S. Senate seat, is no egotist. But Sanders, who will be a featured speaker Saturday at Bob Fest, which is sponsored by The Capital Times and the www.fightingbob.com Web site, is convinced that an independent progressive can have a profound influence in the Senate.

"I would not have told you when I came here in 1991 that I would be able to do more as an independent than a Democrat," Sanders said recently, as he sat outside the House chamber. "But the truth is that, if you check my record, you will see that I have been a leader in forming left-right coalitions in the Congress. I think it has been easier for me to do that as an independent, as someone who does not get involved in a lot of the petty bickering that goes on. I am one of the leaders in opposition to the disastrous, reactionary Bush administration. "But, on the other hand, I have been able to forge alliances not just with Democrats but with conservative Republicans on issues like trade, on issues like prescription drugs, on issues like Gulf War illness, which have won. Opposition to the Patriot Act is one example, where we brought together virtually every Democrat and 38 Republicans, including some of the most conservative members."

Even though Republicans currently control both Houses of Congress - a circumstance to which Sanders objects with a passion - the congressman is unwilling to accept that progressive populist ideas are off the agenda. Progressive members of the House and Senate must identify the issues where even conservatives know the president is wrong. That, he argues, is how to break the deadlock in Washington. "In the sense that we are trying to develop left-right coalitions, we are also trying to redefine American politics," Sanders explains. "Generally speaking, if you go to one of the media pundits here in Washington - who often don't know much about anything - they will define it: If you are pro-choice, you're a liberal; if you're anti-choice, you're a conservative. If you're pro-gay rights, you're a liberal; if you're anti-gay rights you're a conservative. These are very important issues to me - I'm 100 percent pro-choice, I'm for gay rights. But those are not, to my mind, necessarily the defining issues. "You have the trade issue, which is important. You have health care issues, which are very important. You have war and peace issues, economic priority issues, which are very important. And on those issues you can bring together coalitions, which redefine the normal paradigm which a lot of the corporate media creates when they talk about liberal and conservative."

Like La Follette, Sanders is uncomfortable with the word "liberal." A social democrat, he prefers the label that the great Wisconsin senator chose: "progressive." "Liberals are not as engaged as they should be on the economic issues that face tens and tens of millions of people - on health care, which is enormously important in so many people's lives; on trade policies that are costing us millions of decent-paying jobs; on the decline of family-based agriculture; on the need to raise the minimum wage; on the need to protect unions so the workers can negotiate decent contracts. All of those issues sometimes seem to be secondary issues for a number of liberals and I think that's unfortunate," says Sanders, who adds, "I think that's what the Republicans have been playing off. The Republicans jump in and say, 'OK, look, Democrats are not talking about your economic issues. We're not either, but at least we're telling you about the Ten Commandments, we're telling you about abortion, we're telling you about gay rights.' "What my focus has been as a congressman, and what my focus will be as a member of the United States Senate if I'm elected, is to bang away at the fact that - with an explosion of technology and worker productivity - it is absolutely insane that the middle class is shrinking, that poverty is increasing, that the next generation may have a lower standard of living than our generation, that 45 million Americans have no health insurance, that we're losing our pensions, that middle class families can't afford to send their kids to college, that families are spending 45 or 50 percent of their income on housing."

more.......

For more information on the Conyers-Sanders fundraising event, contact 256-3191.

For a Bob Fest schedule and other information, visit www.fightingbobfest.com.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

1. What about the other 185,000,000 who have been devastated?

Where's their bill?

[paineinthearse]

2. I understand your concern, but

...maybe it is the nature of progressives to "want it all".

I had a similar negative response to another positive post I made, about a Mass Dem state rep >40 joining the Guard and volunteering/going to Iraq. The response was to bash his voting record.

The politics of the situation allow this gain; not too far down the road (especially when we win back Congress), we can get the rest.

sheesh!