By any reasonable measure, the 2005 bankruptcy “reform” law passed in 2005 was one of the worst pieces of domestic legislation of Bush’s presidency.
Campaigning in Georgia today, Barack Obama, to his enormous credit, put fixing the law back on the table.
For all the talk about Obama reversing course and scurrying to the middle, he keeps making high-profile moves that undermine the narrative. Last week, Obama announced that he opposes California’s conservative ballot measure on gay marriage. This week, he’s targeting an awful bankruptcy bill.
Barack Obama on Tuesday proposed changing bankruptcy laws to fast-track the process for military families, help seniors keep their homes, and protect people recovering from natural disasters.
The Democratic presidential hopeful also accused Republican rival John McCain of repeatedly siding with the banking industry, saying, “When it comes to strengthening the safety net for hardworking families, he’s been part of the problem, not part of the solution.”
Both candidates are in the midst of weeklong efforts devoted to the economy, the top concern of voters four months before the election as gas prices and job layoffs rise while the credit crisis and housing crunch continue. Each senator is trying to portray himself as most in tune with the needs of a middle class that’s smarting from tenuous economic times — and the other as out of touch.
That’s true, but one of them is right.
“Like the president he hopes to succeed, Sen. McCain does not believe the government has a real role to play in protecting Americans from unscrupulous lending practices,” Obama said. “He would continue to allow the banks and credit card companies to tilt the playing field in their favor, at the expense of hardworking Americans.”
Obama’s campaign pointed to a series of Senate votes in 2005 to accuse McCain of “siding with banking industry lobbyists” while opposing measures that the Democrat’s campaign said would have helped families struggling to pay medical bills, seniors in bankruptcy fighting to keep their homes, and victims of Hurricane Katrina. Aides noted that McCain, an Arizona senator, voted for a bankruptcy reform bill three years ago that critics say favored big business while Obama opposed it. The measure passed the Republican-led Senate with Democratic support.
The McCain campaign responded that 18 Senate Dems ended up voting for the bill in 2005. That’s true. But guess what — they were wrong, too. The McCain campaign should be able to defend the merit of the legislation, but it can’t, so it’s doing the next thing — arguing that the bill was bipartisan.
That may make it a good bill in BroderLand, but for the rest of us, especially Americans struggling in a weak economy, the partisan breakdown of the roll call is irrelevant. McCain sided with the banks and credit card companies to stack the deck in their favor, screwing over consumers in the process.
The Reuters report added:
Obama said about half of all personal bankruptcies result in part from the burden of high medical expenses.
He said he would change the law so that Americans who can prove their bankruptcies resulted from high medical costs could get some relief from their debts.
Obama would also create a “fast-track” bankruptcy process for people serving in the military and their families who get behind on expenses because of long deployments, repeated moves and predatory lenders.
“If you’re serving our country, you should be protected no matter where you live,” Obama said.
In addition, he would make it easier for people over 62 to keep their homes if they are facing bankruptcy and give some relief to people burdened by bills because of a natural disaster.
More of this, please.