Latest Action: 07/14/2008 - Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR S6652)

Bill Text
A bill to amend title 11, United States Code, with respect to the priority of certain high cost credit debts. 7/14/2008--Introduced. Consumer Credit Fairness Act - Amends federal bankruptcy law governing equitable subordination of claims in a bankruptcy case to: (1) subordinate a claim arising from a high cost consumer credit transaction to all other claims; and (2) require transfer to the estate in bankruptcy of any lien securing a subordinated claim. Defines "high cost consumer credit transaction" as an extension of credit by a creditor resulting in a consumer debt with an applicable annual percentage rate (APR), including related costs and fees, that exceeds the lesser of: (1) the sum of 15% and the yield on U.S. Treasury securities having a 30-year period of maturity; or (2) 36%. Excludes a debtor's petition for relief resulting from a high cost consumer credit transaction from mandatory consideration for dismissal, or conversion to a case under [...]

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Latest Action: 08/01/2008 - Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Bill Text
To make technical corrections related to the Pension Protection Act of 2006, and for other purposes. 7/9/2008--Passed House without amendment.    (There is 1 other summary) (This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.) Pension Protection Technical Corrections Act of 2008 - Title I: Technical Corrections Related to the Pension Protection Act of 2006 - (Sec. 101) Makes technical corrections to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code to conform to the Pension Protection Act of 2006 regarding various specified items, including: (1) the target normal cost of benefits; (2) specified implementation and effective dates for certain requirements; (3) one-participant retirement plans; (4) special age-related rules in accrued benefit requirements for applicable defined benefit plans; (5) inapplicability [...]

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Latest Action: 10/20/2008 - Signed by President.

Bill Text
A bill to amend title 11, United States Code, to exempt for a limited period, from the application of the means-test presumption of abuse under chapter 7, qualifying members of reserve components of the Armed Forces and members of the National Guard who, after September 11, 2001, are called to active duty or to perform a homeland defense activity for not less than 90 days. 10/20/2008--Public Law.    (There are 4 other summaries) (This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the Senate on September 15, 2008. The summary of that version is repeated here.) National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Act of 2008 - (Sec. 2) Amends federal bankruptcy law to prohibit the bankruptcy court from dismissing or converting a chapter 7 liquidation case based upon means testing if the debtor, after September 11, 2001, was called to active duty or homeland defense activity while a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces or a member [...]

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Latest Action: 05/07/2008 - Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

Bill Text
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow individuals a refundable and advancable credit against income tax for health insurance costs, to allow employees who elect not to participate in employer subsidized health plans an exclusion from gross income for employer payments in lieu of such participations, and for other purposes. 4/29/2008--Introduced. Patients' Health Care Reform Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to provide for the establishment and governance of : (1) HealthMarts, which are nonprofit organizations that offer health benefits coverage to employers, employees, and individuals through contracts with health insurance issuers; and (2) individual membership associations (IMAs), which are organizations that offer health benefits coverage to members through health insurance issuer contracts. Requires the Secretary of Heath and Human Services to pay 50% of a state's costs to provide health benefits coverage under a high-risk pool, a reinsurance [...]

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Latest Action: 05/05/2008 - Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Financial Services. H. Rept. 110-619.

Bill Text
To create a voluntary FHA program that provides mortgage refinancing assistance to allow families to stay in their homes, protect neighborhoods, and help stabilize the housing market. 5/5/2008--Reported to House amended.    (There is 1 other summary) FHA Housing Stabilization and Homeownership Retention Act of 2008 - Title I: Homeownership Retention - (Sec. 102) Amends the National Housing Act (NHA) to create the Refinance Program Oversight Board, which shall establish and oversee a program for insuring homeownership retention mortgages. Instructs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to insure any homeownership retention mortgage covering a one- to four-family residence made to pay or prepay outstanding obligations under an existing mortgage on the residence. Sets forth mortgagor eligibility criteria, including mortgagor certification that: (1) the residence is the only residence in which the mortgagor has any present [...]

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Latest Action: 04/28/2008 - Referred to the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law.

Bill Text
To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and title 11, United State Code, to provide necessary reforms for employee pension benefit plans. 4/9/2008--Introduced. Employees’ Pension Security Act of 2008 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to require assets of single-employer pension plans to be held in trust by joint boards of trustees. Requires plan sponsors and administrators to provide all material investment information in an accurate form to participants and beneficiaries. Authorizes the Secretary to assess civil penalties for violations of certain information requirements. Sets forth additional requirements for plan termination, to prevent abuse of the bankruptcy and termination process, including requirements relating to: (1) distress termination; (2) bankruptcy court decrees, and the right to intervene to challenge them; (3) consideration of alternatives by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation [...]

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Latest Action: 03/17/2008 - Referred to the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law.

Bill Text
To amend title 11 of the United States Code to make nondischargeable debts for personal injuries that result in permanent disability.

2/26/2008--Introduced.

Savannah's Law - Amends federal bankruptcy law to declare nondischargeable in bankruptcy any debts for a personal injury that results in a permanent disability.

Latest Action: 03/17/2008 - Referred to the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law.

Bill Text
To amend title 11 of the United States Code to make nondischargeable debts for personal injuries that result in permanent disability.

2/14/2008--Introduced.

Amends federal bankruptcy law to declare nondischargeable in bankruptcy any debts for a personal injury that results in a permanent disability.

Latest Action: 02/14/2008 - Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 577.

Bill Text
A bill to provide needed housing reform. 2/13/2008--Introduced. Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) authorize use of the proceeds of a qualified mortgage bond issue to refinance a mortgage on a residence originally financed through a qualified subprime loan; (2) raise the ceiling and volume cap imposed upon certain state housing bonds; and (3) exclude from the meaning of tax preference item private activity bonds, for purposes of the alternative minimum tax, qualified mortgage bonds or veterans' mortgage bonds issued after enactment of this Act and before January 1, 2011. Makes FY2008 appropriations for: (1) emergency needs of states and local governmental units to redevelop certain abandoned and foreclosed homes; and (2) the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation for foreclosure mitigation activities, including grants for housing counseling. Helping Families Save Their Homes in Bankruptcy Act of 2008 - Authorizes a bankruptcy [...]

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Latest Action: 02/04/2008 - Referred to the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law.

Bill Text
To amend title 11 of the United States Code to provide protection for medical debt homeowners, to restore bankruptcy protections for individuals experiencing economic distress as caregivers to ill or disabled family members, and to exempt from means testing debtors whose financial problems were caused by serious medical problems. 1/28/2008--Introduced. Medical Bankruptcy Fairness Act of 2008 - Amends federal bankruptcy law to cite circumstances under which a medically distressed debtor may elect to exempt from the property of the estate in bankruptcy up to $250,000 of the debtor's aggregate interest in specified real or personal property that the debtor (or debtor's dependent) uses as a residence, in a cooperative, or in a burial plot for the debtor or a dependent. Revises requirements for dismissal or conversion of a Chapter 7 case to prohibit the court or specified parties in interest from filing a motion to dismiss or convert to Chapter 11 or 13 if the debtor is [...]

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Latest Action: 12/18/2007 - Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S15919)

Bill Text
A bill to allow employees of a commercial passenger airline carrier who receive payments in a bankruptcy proceeding to roll over such payments into an individual retirement plan, and for other purposes.

12/18/2007--Introduced.

Allows employees of commercial passenger airlines who receive payments from a bankruptcy case filed between September 11, 2001, and January 1, 2007, as compensation for lost pension plan benefits to rollover such payments into an individual retirement account (IRA), except for a Roth IRA, without tax or tax penalty.

Latest Action: 11/14/2007 - Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR S14401)

Bill Text
A bill to increase the annual salaries of justices and judges of the United States, and to increase fees for bankruptcy trustees.

11/14/2007--Introduced.

Fair Judicial Compensation Act of 2007 - Increases by 16.5% the annual salaries of the Chief Justice of the United States, associate justices of the Supreme Court, U.S. circuit judges, U.S. district judges, and judges of the United States Court of International Trade.

Amends the federal bankruptcy code to increase fees for bankruptcy trustees.

Latest Action: 06/24/2008 - Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Bill Text
To amend title 11 of the United States Code to exempt for a limited period, from the application of the means-test presumption of abuse under Chapter 7, qualifying members of reserve components of the Armed Forces and members of the National Guard who, after September 11, 2001, are called to active duty or to perform a homeland defense activity for not less than 90 days. 6/23/2008--Passed House amended.    (There are 2 other summaries) (This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on June 20, 2008. The summary of that version is repeated here.) National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Act of 2008 - Amends federal bankruptcy law to prohibit the bankruptcy court from dismissing or converting a case based on means testing while the debtor: (1) is either on active duty in the military service of the United States or performing a homeland defense activity for at least 90 days, and during the 540 days following the end [...]

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Latest Action: 11/07/2007 - Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E2341)

Bill Text
To allow employees of a commercial passenger airline carrier who receive payments in a bankruptcy proceeding to roll over such payments into an individual retirement plan, and for other purposes.

11/1/2007--Introduced.

Allows employees of commercial passenger airlines who receive payments from a bankruptcy case filed between September 11, 2001, and January 1, 2007, as compensation for lost pension plan benefits to rollover such payments into an individual retirement account (IRA), except for a Roth IRA, without tax or tax penalty.

Latest Action: 11/02/2007 - Referred to the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law.

Bill Text
To amend the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 to exempt from the means test in bankruptcy cases, for a limited period, qualifying reserve-component members who, after September 11, 2001, are called to active duty or to perform a homeland defense activity for not less than 60 days.

10/25/2007--Introduced.

Amends the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 to prohibit the bankruptcy court from dismissing or converting a case based on means testing while the debtor: (1) is either on active duty or performing a homeland defense activity for at least 60 days; or (2) was either called to active duty or performed homeland defense activity as a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces or a member of the National Guard after September 11, 2001.

Latest Action: 11/02/2007 - Referred to the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law.

Bill Text
To authorize bankruptcy courts to take certain actions with respect to mortgage loans in bankruptcy, and for other purposes. 10/9/2007--Introduced. Home Owners Mortgage and Equity Savings Act, or the HOMES Act - Amends federal bankruptcy law governing mortgage loans to authorize modification of a (mortgage) claim secured by an interest in real property initiated before September 26, 2007, that is the debtor's principal residence. Allows the principal amount of such a mortgage loan to be lowered to the fair market value, if less than such amount, of the real property securing the loan at the time of the submission of the debtor's plan for the payment of debts. Permits waiver of otherwise applicable early repayment or prepayment penalties. Permits, also, prohibition of, delay in, or voiding of any adjustments to the rate of interest in the case of an adjustable rate mortgage.Permits the bankruptcy court, in the case of a chapter 13 debtor (individual with regular [...]

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Latest Action: 04/03/2008 - Committee on the Judiciary. Date of scheduled consideration. SD-226. 10:00 a.m.

Bill Text
A bill to authorize bankruptcy courts to take certain actions with respect to mortgage loans in bankruptcy, and for other purposes. 10/3/2007--Introduced. Home Owners' Mortgage and Equity Savings Act, or the HOMES Act - Amends federal bankruptcy law governing mortgage loans to authorize modification of a mortgage agreed to in writing by a debtor meeting specified requirements and the holder of a claim secured by an interest in real property initiated before September 26, 2007, that is the debtor's principal residence. Allows the principal amount of such a mortgage loan to be lowered to the fair market value, if less than such amount, of the real property securing the loan at the time of the submission of the debtor's plan for the payment of debts. Permits waiver of otherwise applicable early repayment or prepayment penalties. Permits, also, prohibition of, delay in, or voiding of any adjustments to the rate of interest in the case of an adjustable rate mortgage. [...]

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Latest Action: 11/19/2008 - Committee on the Judiciary. Hearings held.

Bill Text
A bill to address the treatment of primary mortgages in bankruptcy, and for other purposes. 7/29/2008--Reported to Senate amended.    (There is 1 other summary) Helping Families Save Their Homes in Bankruptcy Act of 2008 - Title I: Minimizing Foreclosures - (Sec. 102) Amends federal bankruptcy law to permit a bankruptcy plan to: (1) modify a loan secured by a nontraditional mortgage, or a subprime mortgage, and any lien subordinate to such claim, on the principal residence (mortgage) of a chapter 13 debtor (individual with regular income); and (2) provide for payment of such loan, at a fixed annual percentage rate of interest, for a period that is the longer of 30 years (reduced by the period for which the loan has been outstanding) or the remaining term of such loan, beginning on the date of the order for relief. Provides that, if a claim has been modified to an amount below the original principal of the loan, and the debtor's principal [...]

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Latest Action: 12/20/2007 - Became Public Law No: 110-142.

Bill Text
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude discharges of indebtedness on principal residences from gross income, and for other purposes. 12/20/2007--Public Law.    (There are 4 other summaries) (This measure has not been amended since it was passed by the Senate on December 14, 2007. The summary of that version is repeated here.)Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income amounts attributable to a discharge, prior to January 1, 2010, of indebtedness incurred to acquire a principal residence. Limits to $2 million the excludable amount of such indebtedness. Reduces the basis of a principal residence by the amount of discharged indebtedness excluded from gross income. Disallows an exclusion for a discharge of indebtedness on account of services performed for the lender or any other factor not directly related to a decline in the value of the residence or to the financial [...]

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Latest Action: 09/25/2007 - Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S12063)

Bill Text
A bill to amend title 11, United States Code, to improve protections for employees and retirees in business bankruptcies. 9/25/2007--Introduced. Protecting Employees and Retirees in Business Bankruptcies Act of 2007 - Amends federal bankruptcy law to increase the maximum amount per individual or corporation of unsecured claims ranked in the fourth (wages, salaries, or commissions) and fifth (employee benefit plan contributions) order of priority. Includes within the scope of a claim in bankruptcy certain equity securities held in a defined contribution plan for the benefit of certain individuals. Ranks in sixth order of priority the diminished value of debtor's equity securities held in a defined contribution plan if the employer or plan sponsor committed fraud regarding the plan. Permits within administrative expenses certain severance pay for termination or layoffs. Prohibits certain senior executive compensation from being disproportionate in [...]

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Latest Action: 10/12/2007 - Referred to the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law.

Bill Text
To amend title 11, United States Code, to improve protections for employees and retirees in business bankruptcies. 9/25/2007--Introduced. Protecting Employees and Retirees in Business Bankruptcies Act of 2007 - Amends federal bankruptcy law to increase the maximum amount per individual or corporationof unsecured claims ranked in the fourth (wages, salaries, or commissions) and fifth (employee benefit plan contributions) order of priority. Includes within the scope of a claim in bankruptcy certain equity securities held in a defined contribution plan for the benefit of certain individuals.Ranks in sixth order of priority the diminished value of debtor's equity securities held in a defined contribution plan if the employer or plan sponsor committed fraud regarding the plan.Permits within administrative expenses certain severance pay for termination or layoffs.Prohibits certain senior executive compensation from being disproportionate in light of economic [...]

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Latest Action: 12/12/2007 - Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.

Bill Text
To amend title 11 of the United States Code with respect to modification of certain mortgages on principal residences, and for other purposes. 9/20/2007--Introduced. Emergency Home Ownership and Mortgage Equity Protection Act of 2007 - Amends federal bankruptcy law governing a chapter 13 debtor (adjustment of debts of an individual with regular income) to prohibit the holder of a claim in bankruptcy which is secured by debtor's principal residence from adding fees, costs, or charges while the case is pending, unless such claimholder gives timely notice to both debtor and the bankruptcy trustee. Revises requirements for the discretionary features of a chapter 13 debtor's plan. Removes the prohibition against modification of the rights of a holder of a claim secured only by an interest in real property that is the debtor's principal residence. (Thus allows a plan to modify such rights.) Authorizes a chapter 13 bankruptcy plan to provide for payment of allowed claims [...]

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Latest Action: 07/26/2007 - Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committ

Bill Text
To authorize the issuance of Federal charters and licenses for carrying on the sale, solicitation, negotiation, and underwriting of insurance or any other insurance operations, to provide a comprehensive system for the Federal regulation and supervision of national insurers and national agencies, to provide for policyholder protections in the event of an insolvency or the impairment of a national insurer, and for other purposes. 7/26/2007--Introduced. National Insurance Act of 2007 - Establishes in the Department of the Treasury an Office of National Insurance (ONI), headed by a Commissioner of National Insurance, with Divisions of Insurance Fraud and of Consumer Affairs, and an Office of the Ombudsman. Authorizes the Commissioner to supervise, regulate, and provide for registration of insurance self-regulatory organizations. Requires the Commissioner to supervise national insurers and national agencies, including chartering and licensing. Removes them, as well [...]

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Latest Action: 11/08/2007 - On motion that the House instruct conferees Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: 218 - 186 (Roll No. 1076).

Bill Text
Making appropriations for the Departments of Commerce and Justice, and Science, and Related Agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2008, and for other purposes. 10/16/2007--Passed Senate amended.    (There are 3 other summaries) Departments of Commerce and Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008 - Makes appropriations for FY2008 for the Departments of Commerce and Justice, for science-related programs, and related agencies.Title I: Department of Commerce - Department of Commerce Appropriations Act, 2008 - Makes appropriations for the Department of Commerce for FY2008 for: (1) the International Trade Administration; (2) the Bureau of Industry and Security; (3) the Economic Development Administration; (4) the Minority Business Development Agency; (5) economic and statistical analysis programs; (6) the Bureau of the Census; (7) the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, including for grants [...]

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