PRESS ADVISORY - Debt Slavery Press Conference

[Kevin Spidel]

Congressman John Conyers, Jr.
Michigan, 14th District
Ranking Member,U.S. House Judiciary Committee
Dean, Congressional Black Caucus

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For Immediate Release: Contact: Danielle Brown
April 12, 2005 [phone]

PRESS CONFERENCE - WEDNESDAY, 9:30 AM


Members of Congress Join Working Americans, Women, Consumers, Children, Seniors, Veterans, and Activists In Call For Defeat of

Anti-Consumer Bankruptcy Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Tomorrow, April 13, 2005, Representative John Conyers, Jr., and other members of Congress will join representatives from a number of citizen organizations to speak out against the so- called Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention Act.

Participants will discuss how the ill advised Bankruptcy Bill, scheduled for House Floor action this Thursday, will massively tilt the playing field in the favor of creditors and against the interests of ordinary consumers and workers who are struggling to overcome difficult and real financial circumstances caused by illness, unemployment, and even military service.

WHAT: Press Conference on Opposition to Bankruptcy Bill

WHEN: Wednesday, April 13th, 2005 at 9:30 a.m.

WHERE: 2237 Rayburn House Office Building

WHO: Rep. John Conyers, Jr., and other Members of Congress

Travis Plunkett, Consumer Federation of America

Patricia Friend, Association of Flight Attendants, CWA, AFL-CIO

Robert Gordon, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress.

Joan Entmacher, Vice President of National Women's Law Center

David Swanson, DebtSlavery.org, PDA Board Member

ALSO PRESENT: American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations

American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees

Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN)

Center for Responsible Lending

Consumers Union

Demos

Leadership Conference on Civil Rights

National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys

National Consumer Law Center

National Community Reinvestment Coalition

National Organization for Women

Public Citizen

United Auto Workers

United States Public Interest Research Group

[Zorra]

1. Thanks for posting this, and thanks to John Conyers once again.

He is one of the best we have.

[KansDem]

2. Yay for John Conyers!!!

He seems to be a kind of "one-man Democratic Party"

OK, OK, add Barbara Boxer and we have a "two-person Democratic Party"

OK, OK, there are more, but the point is we need EVERY Democrat in Congress to embrace true Democratic principles!

It would be nice if a few Republicans did so as well...

[Robert Oak]

3. kick and

I think this bill vote separates the wheat from the shaft
on which representative is a member of the corporate party
versus which one is trying to represent their constituency.

No representative, even if their ideology is some radical,
distasteful fascism, would be voting for this bill, unless the
credit card companies have bought and paid for the vote.

[Catherine Vincent]

5. Word!

[Vincardog]

9. Exactly this it the litmus test. Are you for the People Or for CAPITAL?

If you vote for this monstrosity you are against the people. Everyone voting for this debt slavery bill needs to feel the peoples heat.

[AnneD]

4. Dang....

If Conyers wasn't so essential in Congress, I'd start looking at him for President. That man definantly gets the James Brown 'Hardest Working Man in Rock and Roll'.

[Pinboy]

6. MoveOn msg to call Reps. NOW

Dear MoveOn member,

Yesterday we e-mailed you about the special "Pledge Fund" we're putting together for ads in the hometowns of representatives who vote for bankruptcy legislation. That change in bankruptcy laws will give a huge windfall to credit card companies and banks while squeezing middle class families.

The "Pledge Fund" is going strong. In less than 24 hours, MoveOn members have pledged more than $425,000. Don't forget to make your pledge by clicking on the link below.

http://www.moveonpac.org/radiopledge/?id=5346-5338958-BfOsDWaORdoZY6HGcQ_PHQ

Congress is poised to vote Wednesday on this sweeping change in bankruptcy law. It is critical that members of Congress hear from you today.

Please call:



Tell the staffer who answers that you are a constituent and that you would like to vote against the bankruptcy bill because it sides with big banks and corporations over middle class families. Ask the staffer to send you a letter explaining the representative's position.

After you call help us keep track of how many calls are made to which representatives by clicking on the link below.

http://www.moveonpac.org/bankruptcycalls?id=5346-5338958-BfOsDWaORdoZY6HGcQ_PHQ

The new bankruptcy law would make it impossible for folks who have been dealt a bad hand to get a clean start. The law actually gives credit card companies new ways to seize your home and car if you get into financial trouble.

What's wrong with the bankruptcy legislation? A lot. More than 1.5 million families had to declare bankruptcy last year—half because of unexpected and extraordinary medical expenses. Millions more totter on the edge of bankruptcy. The large numbers of bankruptcies is a clear sign about the tenuous state of the economy—millions of Americans who work hard and play by the rules could be pushed at any time to financial ruin by job loss, business failure or major medical expenses. The pressure valve for these families has historically been bankruptcy but now Congress is making things tougher for these hard-working folks in order to secure billions in profits for creditors.

The legislation Congress will vote on is more than 500 pages long, all in highly technical language. But the Republican leadership and corporate lobbyists are in such a rush to push it through that the text is full of misspellings and repeated phrases. Representatives might not even be allowed to make amendments. But the overall thrust is pretty clear:

Make families pay more to creditors, both in bankruptcy and after bankruptcy, so that instead of offering a clean start, a bankruptcy filing will leave families burdened by credit card debt, car loans, and continued payments to banks or to payday lenders.

Make it more expensive to file for bankruptcy by driving up fees so that the people in the most trouble can't afford to file.

Make it trickier to get through a bankruptcy so that more people will get pushed out of bankruptcy with no debt relief.

Make it harder to repay debts by increasing the minimum payments in repayment plans.

Preserve at all costs the millionaires' loopholes—special privileges that allow the super-rich to escape their debts by hiding their money in special exemptions and trusts.
The changes in bankruptcy laws are just the start. This week the radical Republican leadership, like Rep. Tom DeLay, have declared a war on ordinary Americans with a corporate trifecta: bankruptcy law changes, a permanent repeal of the estate tax (which only affects the super-rich), and a budget that cuts health care and explodes the debt.
Congress needs to hear from you.

Thanks for all you do.

–Tom Matzzie and the MoveOn PAC Team
Tuesday, April 12th, 2005

P.S. Here are some good resoures about the bankruptcy legislation.

"The Debt-Peonage Society," Paul Krugman, The New York Times, March 8, 2005
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/08/opinion/08krugman.html

"The Growing Threat to Middle Class Families," Prof. Elizabeth Warren, Harvard Law School
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=690&id=5346-5338958-BfOsDWaORdoZY6HGcQ_PHQ

Public Campaign Action Fund on the connections to Tom DeLay
http://www.pcactionfund.org/withoutdelay/bankruptcy/

PAID FOR BY MOVEON PAC
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

[roguevalley]

7. john conyers is a good man.

[brokensymmetry]

8. Thank you, Congressman Conyers!

I'm glad to hear that someone is still working for the people instead of the credit card companies.