{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://lee.house.gov/news/press-releases/congresswoman-barbara-lee-denounces-house-passage-of-bankruptcy-reform-legislation-bill-that-punishes-low-income-workers-and-women", "CONGRESSWOMAN BARBARA LEE DENOUNCES HOUSE PASSAGE OF BANKRUPTCY REFORM LEGISLATION BILL THAT PUNISHES LOW-INCOME WORKERS AND WOMEN", "2001-02-28", "2001", "2001-02", "Democrat", "House", "CA", "Barbara Lee", "L000551", "lee.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "02.28.01\n\t\t\t CONGRESSWOMAN BARBARA LEE DENOUNCES HOUSE PASSAGE OF BANKRUPTCY REFORM LEGISLATION BILL THAT PUNISHES LOW-INCOME WORKERS AND WOMEN \n\t\t\tWashington, DC - Congresswoman Barbara Lee\r\ntoday voiced strong opposition to House passage by a vote of 306 to108 of H.R.\r\n333, the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act, which is\r\nalmost identical to the conference report that was pocket vetoed by President\r\nClinton in the 106th Congress.\r\nH.R. 333 makes a number of changes to the bankruptcy laws, including barring\r\nthose who make more than the median income in their region to file for\r\nbankruptcy under Chapter 7, a section of the bankruptcy code that allows debts\r\nto be forgiven after liquidation of property and assets. Under H.R. 333,\r\nmiddle-income individuals are required to file for bankruptcy under Chapter 13,\r\nwhich requires debtors to pay off all their debts with future income.\r\n\r\nAThis really is an anti-consumer, anti-working family,\r\nanti-woman, anti-low-income, ant-child bankruptcy bill,@\r\nsaid Lee. AMany\r\nAmericans were left out of the economic Aboom@\r\nof the past decade and are saving less while accumulating more debt. Many\r\nworking class families are forced into bankruptcy when emergencies arise, and\r\ninstead of helping working families get back on their feet, this Republican\r\nreform bill make declaring bankruptcy much more difficult and stigmatizing.@\r\nA majority of people who file for bankruptcy are working families who have\r\nexperienced a catastrophic event such as illness, job loss, or divorce. H.R. 333\r\nwill also make it much more difficult for businesses to reorganize, thereby\r\nforcing them into bankruptcy and eliminating much needed jobs. The bill may also\r\npit single mothers seeking to collect child support against credit card\r\ncompanies.\r\n\r\nAHundreds of thousands of women who are owed child\r\nsupport or alimony would be harmed financially under the Republican bill,@\r\nsaid Lee. A\r\nThe bill does nothing to protect women owed support by men who declare\r\nbankruptcy or those who need to declare bankruptcy themselves due to\r\nfinancial hardship when their former spouse or non-custodial parent fails to pay\r\nsupport.@\r\nAAdditionally, H.R. 333 fails to ensure that parents\r\nand children will have first claim on the bankruptcy filer=s\r\nfunds, rather than big business collection departments,@\r\nsaid Lee. AI\r\ncannot support the punitive Republican bankruptcy reform legislation. The\r\nDemocratic alternative more sensibly changes the means test, adds consumer\r\nprivacy protections, and further benefits consumers and struggling businesses.@\r\n\r\nLabor unions, consumer groups, and women=s,\r\nchildren=s,\r\nand senior=s\r\nadvocates all adamantly opposed H.R. 333. Congresswoman Lee thanked her\r\nDemocratic colleagues who had the courage to oppose H.R. 333, and urged the\r\nSenate to pass a more sensible alternative.\r\n\r\n###\r\n\t\n\t  \n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n \n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://lee.house.gov/news/press-releases/congresswoman-barbara-lee-denounces-house-passage-of-bankruptcy-reform-legislation-bill-that-punishes-low-income-workers-and-women"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8187210187315941, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}